The Salesforce

Consultant’s
Guide
Tools to Implement or Improve
Your Client’s Salesforce Solution
―
Heather Negley
 THE SALESFORCE
CONSULTANT’S GUIDE

TOOLS TO IMPLEMENT OR IMPROVE YOUR

CLIENT’S SALESFORCE SOLUTION

Heather Negley
The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide: Tools to Implement or Improve Your
Client’s Salesforce Solution
Heather Negley
Fairfax, VA, USA

ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4842-7959-5 ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4842-7960-1

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1

Copyright © 2022 by Heather Negley

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To my mother, Joy Durkin, and my Aunt Mary (Cookie)
Durkin for always loving and supporting me.
Contents
About the Author����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������vii
About the Technical Reviewer������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ix
Acknowledgments�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� xi
Introduction������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ xiii

Part I: Where to Start ������������������������������������������������������������ 1

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Salesforce Ecosystem������������������������������� 3
Chapter 2: Salesforce Learning������������������������������������������������������������������������� 9
Chapter 3: Salesforce Work Experience������������������������������������������������������� 21

Part II: Preparing for a Software Project �������������������������� 27

Chapter 4: The Evolution of Software Development������������������������������� 29
Chapter 5: Common Project Roles��������������������������������������������������������������� 39
Chapter 6: Sales and Staffing ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 57

Part III: Stages of a Project ���������������������������������������������������� 69

Chapter 7: Ramp-Up����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 71
Chapter 8: Kickoff and Discovery������������������������������������������������������������������� 85
Chapter 9: Build, Test, Deploy������������������������������������������������������������������������� 99

Part IV: Consulting Skills�������������������������������������������������������� 113

Chapter 10: Client Management ������������������������������������������������������������������� 115
Chapter 11: Communication��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 129
Chapter 12: Emotional Intelligence��������������������������������������������������������������� 135
Chapter 13: Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills����������������������� 151
Appendix A: Other Resources������������������������������������������������������������������������� 161

Index ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 163

About the Author
Heather Negley is an independent Salesforce consultant currently working
with Simplus. She also mentors and teaches Salesforce professionals on con-
sulting best practices. She is a results-driven, senior leader with more than 25
years of software, automation, and web experience in the private sector, non-
profits, and government. She is Salesforce and PMP certified and has worked
on dozens of Salesforce implementations as a technology lead, project man-
ager, business analyst, change manager, and solution and business architect.
Heather lives in Virginia with her husband James and their two daughters,
Ella and Gwyneth.
About the Technical
Reviewer
David Masri founded Gluon Digital in 2020 with the goal of promoting data
migration and integration best practices to the Salesforce Ohana. Prior to
founding Gluon Digital, Dave spent years working with data and with Salesforce.
He has been involved in dozens of Salesforce data migration and integration
projects and has used that experience to run numerous training programs for
aspiring integration/migration specialists and then ultimately authored a book
(Developing Data Migrations and Integrations with Salesforce) on the subject.
Previously Dave was the director of professional services at Plative, a Salesforce
Silver Partner. Before that he was the technical director of data strategy and
architecture for Capgemini Invent’s Salesforce Practice. He has more than 20
years of hands-on experience building integrated ERP, BI, e-commerce, and
CRM systems, and for the past seven years has worked exclusively with the
Salesforce platform. Dave holds more than ten professional certifications,
including nine Salesforce certifications, the Project Management Professional
(PMP), and Google’s Data Engineer Certification. David is a lifelong New Yorker,
born and raised in Brooklyn, where he currently lives with his loving wife
Nancy and their kids, Joey, Adam, Ally, and Lilly.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost I would like to thank my family for their support and
encouragement during the months I spent writing this book. Each of you live
in my heart.
I would also like to thank Wendy, Kai and Behzad for generously sharing your
stories with me and the readers.Your stories create a texture that I could not
have produced alone. A special thank you to David Masri, my technical editor,
whose advice and detailed eye made this book better. And also thanks to my
cousin, Tres, for his mentorship and advice.
Thank you to the team at Apress. You have made this a fantastic journey.
Thank you, Susan for taking a chance on me and for Jessica for ensuring a
smooth writing process and making it an enjoyable experience from start
to finish.
And thank you to my friends for your encouragement and inspiration.
Introduction
In 2013, I was a new mother with two small children. I had only been out of
the workforce for four years, but during that time a lot had changed in the
world, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. My journey into the
Salesforce ecosystem was a little serendipitous. I met a recruiter at a net-
working event on Big Data in downtown Washington, DC, and was hired at a
consulting company that was having a Salesforce bootcamp. Now eight years
later, I have been on more than 30 Salesforce delivery projects in technical and
nontechnical roles.
The intention of this book is to give new consultants a guide that you can
refer to as you enter the Salesforce ecosystem and start project work. The
book is divided into four parts.

• Part 1: Where to Start

• Part 2: Preparing for a Software Project
• Part 3: Stages of a Project
• Part 4: Consulting Skills

Chapter 1 is intended to orient you to the Salesforce ecosystem by giving you

an overview of Salesforce, the company, and how it got its start, including an
explanation of the Salesforce ecosystem and the platforms that are part of it.
Chapter 2 includes an overview of the best learning and community resources
as well as mentoring programs, conferences, and regional events.
Chapter 3 has tips on how to get job experience through volunteering if you
are certified but have not actually worked on a project. This is a common
dilemma when all the job postings require experience. This chapter will help
guide you to places that need Salesforce help.
Chapter 4 is a primer on the evolution of software development. It is intended
to give you context and historical information on the incarnations of creating
software. Salesforce projects usually support digital modernization strategies
and with these strategies come automation. This chapter explains why humans
can and should still work with automated systems. Software development
lifecycles are frameworks to plan, implement, test, deploy, and maintain soft-
ware, and details around the popular frameworks of Waterfall and Agile are
also discussed.
xiv Introduction

Chapter 5 covers all the project roles that you have to choose from while
working on a Salesforce project. From project managers to solution architects
and developers, each role is defined in detail. An explanation of the job func-
tion of a consultant as a whole is also explained and how any role can be a
consultant.
Chapter 6 explains the presales process and how you actually get staffed on a
project. You will learn what being on the bench means as well as the differ-
ence between a centralized and decentralized staffing model. Also, there are
tips for attending a sales hand-off meeting and what type of information to
look for and what questions to ask.
Chapter 7 kicks off the stages of a project with Ramp-Up, which means how
to get prepared for a project. It spans topics such as travel tips to understand-
ing utilization expectations to knowing your role.
In Chapter 8, we finally start a project with a synopsis of Kickoff and Discovery.
You will learn interpersonal do’s and don’ts to remember during kickoff as
well as understanding the client vision and use cases. A deep dive into
Discovery covers business analysis, current and future state, process flows,
and how to write user stories. Finally, the chapter wraps up with an overview
of the stages of group development that include forming, storming, norming,
performing, and adjourning. There are predictable times in a project when
these stages are likely to occur and things you can do to identify and man-
age them.
In Chapter 9 we start building the application using the Agile process. You will
learn about backlog refinement, sprint planning, and other Agile ceremonies.
There is also a section on how to properly use visuals to communicate com-
plex information in an easily digestible format. This chapter concludes with an
overview of user acceptance testing and deployment.
The last part on consulting skills starts in Chapter 10 with the first soft skill
of client management. Seven project archetypes or project patterns are dis-
cussed with tips on what to watch out for and strategies to help navigate
these projects.

• The Hydra
• The Echo Chamber
• Swiss Cheese
• The Explorer
• The Rube Goldberg
• High Horse
• Stick in the Mud
 Introduction xv

Chapter 11 is all about communication and how to choose the right medium
depending on the type of message that you want to deliver. There are also tips
on how to listen well and tips for choosing the right word when speaking or
writing. There is also an overview of Slack and how it has changed the way we
communicate with each other at work.
Chapter 12 is an overview of emotional intelligence and how to understand
how our emotions affect our project work. A review of Plutchik’s Wheel of
Emotions reveals that our emotions are interconnected. Emotional situations
that occur on projects are discussed in the context of common scenarios
such as encountering difficulties when a new group forms, making mistakes,
becoming burned out, and getting removed from a project or fired from a
firm. Perspectives on which emotional consulting tools to utilize are intended
to help navigate these tough situations.
Critical thinking is covered in Chapter 13 with an overview of the steps to
systematically solve problems through logic. Tips on learning how to gather
information in an organized manner so you can analyze and evaluate it are
discussed. Avoiding bias and being aware of how to manage information over-
load are key concepts in this chapter. Finally, the chapter concludes with a
look at some of the cognitive biases that you may encounter on a Salesforce
project. This includes a link to an infographic with more than 180 cognitive
biases that are out there.
 PA R T

Where to Start
 CHAPTER

Introduction to
the Salesforce
Ecosystem
This book was written for people who are Salesforce consultants and for
people who would like to become Salesforce consultants—whether you are
just starting your career, you are a stay-at-home parent thinking of going back
to work, or you have already had one career and would like to try something
new. I found Salesforce in the middle of my career and would like to share
with you the knowledge that I have gathered from being a Salesforce consultant
for nearly a decade on dozens of projects.

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_1
4 Chapter 1 | Introduction to the Salesforce Ecosystem

In this book, I hope to provide you with the knowledge, resources, and tools
that you will need to be successful. This book is divided into three sections.
The first part introduces you to the Salesforce community that is referred
to as an ecosystem and where you can go to find resources to help you get
certified as well as places to go to gain experience.
The second part of the book gives you a perspective on the types of projects
that you may be working on from a macro perspective. The history of
automation and software development is intended to orient you and give you
a basis of knowledge on how these types of projects came to be. You will also
learn common project roles and typical sales and staffing processes in
consulting firms as well as important information to receive from account
executives to set you up for a successful project. The third part of the book
covers the parts of a project and tips to maximize your effectiveness during
each phase. The final part is an overview of soft skills for consultants, including
communication, emotional intelligence, client management, critical thinking,
and how to avoid burnout.

The Salesforce Ecosystem

The Salesforce community is referred to as an ecosystem because it best
describes the vast array of consulting and integration partners, third-party
app companies, and teachers who encircle Salesforce the company. Without
this internetwork of synergistic pieces, Salesforce would not have as big a
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 5

reach in the cloud computing software market. With more than 49,000
employees in 2020, Salesforce has a market cap of $193.55 billion as of March
10, 2021, and had revenue surpassing $17 billion for the fiscal year ending
January 31, 2020.1
In fact, in a Salesforce-sponsored study, the International Data Corporation
(IDC) predicted that by 2024, Salesforce and its ecosystem are expected to
enable the creation of 4.2 million jobs worldwide. While keeping in mind that
industry-sponsored studies tend to be biased toward their own product, this
is still a huge prediction with a big impact on new job generation for a large
number of people across a vast geographic area. So, given Salesforce’s
trajectory, the general sentiment is very clear: Salesforce jobs will be on the
rise for several years to come.
Salesforce has been around for quite a while. It was started in 1999 in San
Francisco by Marc Benioff who had been working at Oracle as a vice president.
Marc partnered with Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez,
and they created a software-as-a-service platform for customer relationship
management and named it Salesforce. The company went public in 2004.2
One of the more interesting elements that has probably contributed to the
company’s success is the philanthropy model that Benioff coined the 1-1-1
model. It is designed to give back 1 percent of the company’s equity, product,
and employees’ time to the ecosystem. As Benioff explains in his 2019
biography,3 as his idea for starting the company was starting to take shape, he
took a trip to India where he developed a spiritual intent to give back that was
nurtured and influenced by Mata Amiritaanandamayi, a spiritual leader and
humanitarian known as “the hugging saint.” She ends all her programs by
hugging all who attend and has hugged more than 40 million people worldwide.4
When he met her on this trip and explained his business idea, she told him,
“In your quest to succeed and make money, don’t forget to do something for
others.” The 1-1-1 model is Benioff’s practical application of this advice. I
think that if Benioff had not been able to clearly translate this type of idealist
intention into a succinct measurable goal, then Salesforce would not be the
type of company it is today.
Benioff’s knack for taking abstract concepts and defining them and scaling
them around the Salesforce brand is evidenced again with the cultural concept
he created for Salesforce called Ohana, which means “family” in Hawaiian.
The Salesforce ecosystem is often referred to as the Ohana. He intentionally

1
“Salesforce, Inc Financial Statements 2005-2021 | CRM.” www.macrotrends.net.
Retrieved March 11, 2021.
2
https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/the-history-of-salesforce/
#:~:text=2004,million%20at%20%2411%20per%20share.
3
Trailblazer, Marc Bennioff
4
http://www.embracingtheworld.org/about-amma/
6 Chapter 1 | Introduction to the Salesforce Ecosystem

chose this concept rather than a team type of idea that many other companies
adopt to describe culture because Ohana encapsulates ethos or the values of
family instead of a more stripped-down idea of a generic team.5 There is a
reason that so many people in the world now use Salesforce and want to learn
it, and I believe that these two aspects, the 1-1-1 model and Ohana, are a
large part of it. As you start your Salesforce journey, you will quickly find
other people in the ecosystem who want to help you to succeed, and finding
help will come easily. The Ohana concept has set the mood for the ecosystem,
and Benioff is consistently refining it as Salesforce grows, extending it to
partners and customers.
The Salesforce ecosystem is more than four times larger than Salesforce
itself,6 and by 2024, it will be nearly six times bigger. It is broken into three
distinct organization types. But maybe I should start with why it is referred to
as an ecosystem in the first place. As a Salesforce consultant, I have attended
many meetings where Salesforce professionals really do introduce themselves
to each other by indicating how long they have worked in the ecosystem. The
introduction usually sounds something along the lines of “Hi, my name is
Jackie, and I have been in the ecosystem for seven years.” It is often just
referred to as “the ecosystem,” and the longer you have worked in it, the
better. It doesn’t matter how many jobs you have had, only that you have
worked in the ecosystem. The more time, the more inferred clout and
experience that you have. Being part of the Salesforce “ecosystem” means
you have worked in an industry that makes its revenue by either consulting,
building third-party apps, or teaching Salesforce, and not necessarily as an
employee of Salesforce.
But back to the types of organizations. First, there are pure Salesforce
customers or end users. These are industry companies that implement and
manage their Salesforce organization in-house. The typical roles in this type of
organization are administrator, developer, and business analyst. I will explain
roles in more detail in Chapter 5. But the important thing to know at this
point is that people who work for an end-user organization play a part in
planning the roadmap for building out their Salesforce instance and are not
consultants, so if you want to work as a consultant, this is not the type of
organization that you would want to look for. The main focus of this guidebook
is on consulting jobs.
The next type of organization is the Salesforce partner, sometimes referred
to as an implementation partner or consulting partner or even as system integrators
(SIs), because they help customers implement their business rules and

5
Trailblazer, page 130–132.
6
https://www.salesforce.com/content/dam/web/en_us/www/documents/reports/
idc-salesforce-economy-report.pdf
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 7

processes and migrate their data into the platform. Some of the most popular
roles in this type of organization are technofunctional consultants, developers,
and functional consultants.
The last type is the independent software vendors (ISVs). These are
organizations that build software on the platform, and typical roles include
developer, technical and functional consultant, and administrator.

The Platform
As I said earlier, Salesforce is a software-as-a-service platform for customer
relationship management. Software-as-a-service means that the software is
delivered over the Internet, and the service provider, in this case Salesforce,
hosts the applications. You might also see it written as SaaS. Salesforce is both
the name of the company and the name of the flagship product. Salesforce is
made up of subproducts called clouds such as Sales Cloud, Service Cloud,
et al. There are many other separate products as well such as Mulesoft,
Tableau, and Slack, to name just a few.
Salesforce stores customer data using a multitenant architecture, which means
that you share server space with other customers. Think of it as an apartment
building that has separate apartments. Everyone shares the same building but
has their own space in the building. Multitenant is similar and is popular
because it saves companies costs on buying and managing their own servers.
Since Salesforce is a platform, this means users can build many applications
inside their spaces or organizations. You may also hear them referred to as
orgs. As mentioned, Salesforce is primarily known as a customer relationship
management database. This means that the platform comes with standard
objects named for a user managing their sales leads and opportunities. Sales
Cloud is the name of the product on the platform with the collection of
objects that serves this purpose. Standard objects are contacts, accounts,
leads, and opportunities. It also gives users the ability to create their own
custom objects. The tabular interface for interacting with the database objects
and related lists and views is visually appealing.
Salesforce creates relationships between objects and brands the apps as clouds
for specific industries or business processes. Some product examples include
Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Pardot, and Experience Cloud,
to name a few. Customers buy the license for the product that fits their
business needs.
In the next chapter, you will learn about ways to find a job as a Salesforce
consultant both with and without Salesforce experience. You will learn about
the Salesforce mentoring program and how to volunteer to gain the experience
needed to land a job.
8 Chapter 1 | Introduction to the Salesforce Ecosystem

Summary
Salesforce began in 1999 and has grown into a vast ecosystem with an
increasing number of job opportunities. It has a robust philanthropic strategic
vision called the 1-1-1 model and a culture based on family values called Ohana.
The Salesforce ecosystem consists of three types of organizations: Salesforce
customers, Salesforce partners, and independent software vendors.
Salesforce is a software-as-a-service platform that sells many apps that come
with standard objects depending on the license type. The relationships
between the objects create a data model that serve as a starting point for the
application. Changes to the data model can be made by creating custom
objects.

Resources
History of Salesforce, https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/the-
history-of-salesforce/#:~:text=The%20company%20now%20has%
201.5,150%2C000%20customers%20and%2016%2C000%20employees
Benioff, Marc, and Langley, Monica, Trailblazer: the Power of Business as the
Greatest Platform for Change
 CHAPTER

Salesforce
Learning
In this chapter, you will discover the best learning resources and community
resources to aid your learning. Finding a mentor is an important first step, and
the Trailblazer Mentorship program makes it easy to find one.
There are many free learning resources in the ecosystem to help you prepare
for your first certification. The Salesforce Administrator certification is the
most common first certification to acquire.
There are also many paid learning resources for all different budgets. Finding
a learning community to engage in is critical to support your learning. It is
both important for knowledge growth and important because it helps you
make connections with people in the ecosystem, which is important once you
find a job, as you will see in Chapter 3.
Tapping into key learning resources can help you achieve your goals in the
Salesforce ecosystem. Learning Salesforce is an important piece in the journey
of becoming a knowledgeable Salesforce consultant. As you will read in
Chapter 5, each role has its own learning path. A Salesforce consultant obtains
knowledge germane to their roles from project work and also from technology
training. Consultants work on projects that are often short-term. This allows
a lot of experiences to accumulate in a short period of time. Consultants then
use this knowledge to help clients on future projects.

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_2
10 Chapter 2 | Salesforce Learning

If you are just starting out, being able to identify the things you don’t know
and figuring out the best processes for learning them is key to both getting
experience and landing a job. This chapter has several resources to help you
find the right learning sources.
Being a good Salesforce consultant consists of three overlapping parts:
learning, community, and a job (see Figure 2-1). In this section, I will explain
learning and community and their overlap with learning communities. Chapter 3
will focus on strategies and resources for finding a job and the overlap with
job communities. Chapter 5 has more resources based on your specific
project role.

Figure 2-1. Three parts of being a Salesforce consultant

Historically speaking, we are living in a time of enormous prosperity with

many opportunities. One of the reasons there is so much demand is because
Salesforce has had huge success spreading the platform across the world, and
that is opening up opportunities for many people. You can get a job working
from home using your intellect to contribute to a team that is trying to solve
problems and innovate. That is pretty exciting.
The technology field is not a hard field to break into if you are willing to learn
new things. It is an enormous industry that is constantly changing and
innovating. There is always a need for people to learn the new technologies
that are developed. If you are someone who has the desire and aptitude to
learn and are curious about how things work, then your inexperience on the
platform will not get in the way. The Salesforce platform teaches “clicks not
code,” which means that you learn how to configure an interface by navigating
to the right section in an administration setup. This type of work is still
considered development, and in fact Salesforce used to call people who did
this type of work developers, but it fell out of use because it became confusing
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 11

to distinguish this type of work from people who write code line by line. You
do not have to learn how to write code to be a Salesforce consultant unless
you want to, and if you do, then your role is considered to be a developer.
You’ll learn more about roles in Chapter 5.
Don’t let your age hold you back either. There are plenty of jobs to go around
for young and old. Older workers may have experience working with people,
running meetings, and collaborating that will help as a consultant. If you are
older than 55, you can also learn to be a Salesforce consultant and get a good
job advising companies on how to solve their business problems. In fact, your
life experience will come in handy. The technology might be new, but working
with people is not, and solid industry experience is very much needed in the
ecosystem. Whether it is on a team or communicating with a client, soft skills
matter. I will describe soft skills in more detail in Part 4. Whether or not you
have Salesforce experience should not keep you from exploring a career as a
Salesforce consultant. There are ways to get experience that I will discuss in
Chapter 3.

Mentoring
One of the first things you should do as you start to explore Salesforce is find
a mentor. Mentors are good guides for anyone no matter the Salesforce
experience level. Salesforces’ Trailblazer Mentorship matches Salesforce
ecosystem volunteers called trailblazers to those looking for guidance.
Trailblazer is a generic term for anyone who spreads knowledge in the
community. The program is worth joining because the people who volunteer
to mentor are part of the Ohana community and want to help others.
Remember, the Ohana community is a support system taken from the
Hawaiian word for family. It extends beyond Salesforce the company to
partners, which includes consultants as well as Salesforce customers and
other people who use the platform.
12 Chapter 2 | Salesforce Learning

I have participated in the program as a mentor and helped people with a

variety of needs. Sometimes it helps to just talk through your goals out loud
with another person to help solidify them. Mentors like to share their experi-
ences and offer advice depending on your situation. Everyone has unique
needs, and a mentor can hone in on yours quickly.
Some of the specific things that a mentor can help with is to look over your
résumé. This may help you pull out your strengths and make sure that they
are reflected in your résumé in a clear and concise way. Sometimes, we
overlook our strengths, so I highly recommend talking with a mentor who
asks you about you. Other things that a mentor may help with are giving you
certification advice, job search advice, salary negotiation strategies, examining
your online presence on LinkedIn, and making recommendations on personal
branding.

Learning
A willingness to learn is important. Tech cycles are short, lasting just three to
five years, so learning is important, and it is a constant.1 You might spend a lot
of time getting certified in a solution only to find five years later that the
technology is different. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bother learning the
technology that is popular now, but be flexible, curious, and adaptable, and
remember that things are changing all the time. Being able to learn quickly and
consistently is a skill and a huge benefit to doing this type of work. Every time
a new project begins, see it as a new learning cycle starting.
There are many places to get Salesforce knowledge. There are free resources
such as Trailhead, bootcamp programs, and learning competitions. As you
choose your subject area of concentration, these resources continue in a
more refined, deeper, and narrower scope with blogs, slack groups, podcasts,
and webinars devoted to specific topics. There are role-specific resources in
Chapter 5. If you are just starting out, this chapter has some good resources
to get you started and oriented.
How much should you learn? The ecosystem is too large for one person to
know everything, and that’s okay. The goal is not to learn everything. The goal
is to learn some and figure out what you are good at, what you like, what skills
are in demand, and then align and move forward. Knowing where to go to find
the answers is key.

1
Zinn, Ray, Tech Cycle Survival, November 29, 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/
forbestechcouncil/2017/11/29/tech-cycle-survival/?sh=6f811bf478ce
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 13

Free Learning
Here are some free learning opportunities.

Trailhead
Trailhead is the main salesforce learning portal and a good place to start.
Bookmark it, because it is a valuable resource, and you will need to refer to it
a lot. When I started my Salesforce journey, I didn’t have Trailhead, but I wish
that I had. It would have accelerated my learning. It is fun and helpful, but you
can get lost in a maze of hours-long modules, and if you don’t have a plan as
to why you are in there, then it can turn into a time suck.

Trailhead is gamified with points, badges, and superbadges. The badges have
different levels called trailblazer ranks. They are Scout, Hiker, Explorer,
Adventurer, Mountaineer, Expeditioner, and the highest Ranger.
Trailhead also has superbadges that will help you apply the knowledge with
more in-depth, hands-on learning in the Trailhead playground, which is an area
of sandboxes connected to the module that you can spin up easily and where
you can practice configuring Salesforce orgs.
Even after you achieve Ranger, the learning never stops because you will use
Trailhead to keep up with new features and technologies. There is even a
Trailhead Live portal with a schedule of live events and on-demand videos on
various featured content for newbies as well as detailed videos on the latest
features in Trailhead. I talk more about events later in this chapter.

Free Bootcamp Programs

The Salesforce Pathfinder Program is a bootcamp program with Deloitte. It is
a 16-week program. The program’s goal is to teach technical and business
skills to students. Proficiency in both of these areas is needed to excel as a
Salesforce consultant. Part 3 explains some of the business skills that Salesforce
consultants need.
14 Chapter 2 | Salesforce Learning

The first eight weeks are focused on virtual Salesforce technical skills and
Deloitte business training. After that, there are two weeks of in-person train-
ing and then time to study for the certification. Students do not have to pay
to take the exams. The program is especially noteworthy because graduates
gain access to job interviews. Apply at https://pathfinder.sales-
force.com.
Pep Up Tech was founded in 2016 by Stephanie Herrera, Selina Suarez, and
Rebe da la Paz as a solution to help underrepresented groups get trained in
IT. The organization partners with colleges and holds a popular bootcamp
program. You can apply for a course on their website. There are many
volunteers from the Salesforce Ohana community who volunteer their time
to support this nonprofit.

100 Days of Trailhead

In 2018, Jessica Murphy and Rachel Watson started a creative idea called 100
days of Trailhead.com. It is a community-supported program based on the
concept of helping each other make and keep Salesforce learning goals using
New Year’s resolutions. To take part, you fill out a form on the website at the
beginning of the year and sign up to spend the time learning by getting badges,
superbadges, points, and certifications. There is also a fun leaderboard to
keep track of your rank compared to other participants.

Paid Learning
There are more and more paid Salesforce classes offered by places other than
Salesforce. Salesforce classes are by far the priciest at several thousand dollars
a class. Trailhead Academy classes are given by Salesforce. If your place of
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 15

employment is not offering to pay for the classes as part of their learning
development program, then it may not be the most cost-effective way for you
to learn. Many classes are offered by people who are influencers in the
Salesforce ecosystem. Influencers are mostly people who have won Salesforce
community awards, such a MVP or Golden Hoodie, and other leaders who
have created Salesforce content such as blogs and podcasts.
Udemy is a paid online learning platform that has many types of classes. There
are a lot of Salesforce classes on the platform. Mike Wheeler training courses
are very popular.
Focus On Force offers paid but affordable training materials such as study
guides and practice exams.
Supermums was started by Heather Black. The organization focuses on
Salesforce training for moms and dads. The classes are pricier, but they also
help with gaining experience and finding a job.
Francis Pindar’s blog Radnip.com has useful informative information about the
platform, and his site, Admintoarchitect.com, offers affordable training.

Certifications
The number of salesforce certifications keeps on growing. When I first started
in 2013, there were around five. If I remember correctly, there was Salesforce
Administrator, Advanced Admin Salesforce Developer, Salesforce Consultant,
and Salesforce Service Cloud. Many people got all the certifications, and that
was my goal for a while. But after a couple of years, Salesforce increased the
number of certifications to 23, and I changed my mind, because it was
unrealistic for me. However, I do know several people who got all 23.

Nowadays, there are more than 30 certifications, and getting all of them is not
a goal I would recommend setting. It is becoming analogous to taking all the
classes at college. It is better to start by taking general classes to introduce
and orient you to the platform and then to specialize. An innovative society
does not require you to become an expert in everything. You can have a high
16 Chapter 2 | Salesforce Learning

quality of life and a successful career by specializing. There is no need to try

to be an expert at everything. And even if you try, you will probably become
an expert in some things and a generalist in other areas.
If you are new to the ecosystem, the administrator exam is the first certification
that most people get. You should start with this one if your goal is to be a
Salesforce consultant. It is a prerequisite for a lot of other certifications
including the consultant certifications such as Sales and Service Cloud among
others. If you know you want to be a developer, then it is fine to start with
Platform Developer 1. If you are unsure, then start with the Administrator
certification; you can still get the developer certifications later.

Learning Communities
Remember, you are not alone when you set off to learn Salesforce. There are
tons of resources and a friendly and helpful community of people who want
you to succeed.

Trailblazer Community Groups

A Trailblazer is the name that Salesforce gives to people who complete badges
in Trailhead. They are defined as people who love to learn and help others
learn. MVPs are nominated from this group on a yearly basis. Trailblazers have
their own community groups (https://trailblazercommunitygroups.
com/). They are usually in-person meetups and are region based. This site
functions as a portal to find a specific group you would like to join such as
Salesforce Women in Tech that formed in 2010.

MVP Office Hours mvpofficehours.info

Salesforce MVPs created MVP Office Hours as an open forum for people to
go to ask questions and get help on problems.

Salesforce Saturdays
The first Salesforce Saturday was started by one of the cofounders of Pep Up
Tech. These are independent city-based meetups. To find one near you, the
easiest thing to do is go to Meetup.com and search for a Salesforce Saturday
near you. Attending one of these events is a good way to meet people in your
local community who are learning Salesforce or work in the ecosystem.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 17

Ohana Slack
Meighan Brodkey and Kevin Mikolajczak founded Ohana Slack, which is a Slack
app (#OhanaSlack) for the Salesforce ecosystem. It is for everyone in the
community including admins, devs, architects, specialists, and MVPs with all
sorts of channels to explore.

Military
There are great training programs in the ecosystem for veterans and their
spouses. The following are very popular.

Salesforce Military
Salesforce Military (https://veterans.force.com/s/) is a Salesforce program
for active-duty, reserve, guard, veterans, and current military spouses in the
United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. They
give free training and help with job placement. Depending on how much time
you have to spare, you can get certified in anywhere from one to six months.
There is also a Hiring Our Heroes and Salesforce Fellowship Program that
provides 12 weeks of paid job training for certified Salesforce professionals
(https://www.hiringourheroes.org/career-­services/fellowships/
industry-­focus/salesforce/).

Mervis
Mervis (https://merivis.org/) is a nonprofit organization started by
Hector Perez, Jr., to help veterans and military spouses through job training,
mentorships, and job placement. Joining an admin cohort is a good place to
start. The cohorts are $150, but there are ways to apply for scholarships.

Events
The following are some events.

Conferences
Dreamforce is the annual Salesforce conference held every year in San
Francisco for clients and partners. It is one of the biggest tech conferences in
the world. See https://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce/.
TrailheadDX is a Salesforce-sponsored conference for developers. See
https://www.salesforce.com/trailheadx/.
18 Chapter 2 | Salesforce Learning

Trailhead Events are webinars for admins and developers and other roles
on a variety of Salesforce topics such as Salesforce fundamentals, essential habits
for new admins, and how to build architecture diagrams. There are a wide
variety of topics to choose from, and they have events posted months out. See
https://trailhead.salesforce.com/calendar?programs=trailhead.

Regional Events
World Tours are smaller city events sponsored by Salesforce that take place
all over the world. Clients and partners attend these events.
Community Conferences are put on by local groups. https://trailhead.
salesforce.com/community/conferences is a directory of community
conferences by region.

Summary
Salesforce consulting has three main parts: learning, community, and job. The
first thing you should do if you want to be a Salesforce consultant is to join
the mentorship program. Mentors can offer a lot of great guidance. A
willingness to learn is important. Tech cycles are short, and learning is
continuous. There are many free learning resources such as Trailhead, the
Salesforce Pathfinder program, Pep Up Tech, and 100 Days of Trailhead. There
are also a lot of paid learning resources such as Trailhead Academy, Udemy,
Mike Wheeler training courses on Udemy, Focus On Force, Supermums, and
Radnip.com.
It is not necessary to get all the Salesforce certifications but is important to
get some. Salesforce Administrator is the one most people start off getting.
Engaging in learning communities is an important aspect of becoming a
successful Salesforce consultant. There are many resources and a friendly and
helpful community of people who want you to succeed. Look into Trailblazer
community groups such as Women in Tech, MVP Office Hours, Salesforce
Saturdays, and Ohana Slack. If you are a veteran, you can join Vetforce
or Mervis.
There are also a plethora of virtual and in-person conferences such as
Dreamforce, TrailheadDX, Trailhead Events, World Tours, and community
conferences.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 19

Resources
Trailblazer Mentorship Program, https://trailhead.salesforce.com/
trailblazerconnect/mentorship
Trailhead, https://trailhead.salesforce.com
Trailhead Live Portal, https://trailhead.salesforce.com/live/
Salesforce Pathfinder, https://pathfinder.salesforce.com
Pep Up Tech, https://www.pepuptech.org/
Apply to Pep Up Tech, [email protected]
Salesforce Saturdays, https://www.meetup.com/topics/salesforce/
Trailhead Academy, https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/academy
Udemy, https://www.udemy.com/
Focus on Force, https://focusonforce.com/
Supermums, https://supermums.org/
MVP Directory, https://trailhead.salesforce.com/mvp/#meet
100 Days of Trailhead, https://100daysoftrailhead.com
Francis Pindar’s blog, https://www.radnip.com/
Francis Pindar’s blog Radnip.com has useful informative information about the
platform and his site, Admintoarchitect, https://admintoarchitect.com/
 CHAPTER

Salesforce Work
Experience
There are many definitions of work experience. If your goal is to be a
consultant, then Salesforce work experience means something specific. If you
do not have this experience, then an easy way to get it is by volunteering.
There are many organizations that facilitate matching volunteers with projects.
Once you have project experience, working with a recruiter can speed up the
job search.

Job Experience
So, you have taken your Administrator exam, and now you are certified.
Great! Now, the job search begins. You start looking for a job, and everywhere
you look you notice that every job posting requires experience. This age-old
conundrum is never easy for any job seeker. It is the same question every
time: “How am I supposed to get experience for this job when the job is what
would give me experience? How do I start?”
From the employer’s point of view, they want to hire someone who will bring
value, and having experience is an assumed indicator of value. But what does
lack of experience really mean? Well, it could mean that you have a job as a
Salesforce administrator in an industry company, but you do not have project
experience. Consultants do project work. They move from project to project.

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_3
22 Chapter 3 | Salesforce Work Experience

They do not work for one company for an extended period of time only
undertaking operational work, which is often the case as a Salesforce
administrator role. For example, I have been on more than 30 projects in the
seven years that I have been a Salesforce consultant. Project experience gives
you consulting experience because you move from one to another and take
your experience with you to use when you advise the next client. Salesforce
consultants may gain experience working for consulting firms or systems
integrators. These types of companies are usually Salesforce partners that
help companies configure, customize, or integrate the software based on
specific business requirements.
Lack of experience can also mean that you could have experience in various
roles on non-Salesforce projects such as a project manager or a business
analyst but the job posting is looking for experience on Salesforce projects
specifically. See Chapter 5 for a deep dive into roles. And while you may think
that it shouldn’t matter (after all, you have project experience), the fact is that
more and more partners want project managers with experience managing
Salesforce projects. Employers want project managers to have general
knowledge of the parts of the Salesforce ecosystem and a basic understanding
of the Salesforce platform. Most partners are probably fine with a basic
knowledge of Sales Cloud or Service Cloud since these are core products.
Getting the administrator certification should give you enough knowledge to
have intelligent conversations with the solution architects and developers on
your team.
A lack of experience could also mean that you do not have technical
experience. You could be trying to make the switch from a business role to a
more technical one. This can be harder to sell but not impossible. If you are
someone like this, then you may have a capacity to understand technical
systems from a general point of view. You have technical proficiency but are
also really good at seeing the big picture. You may communicate very well
with developers but lack the stamina to inspect and troubleshoot detailed
scenarios over and over again until a single piece of functionality works. You
can talk to developers who are detail based and communicate to them using
analogies to show the bigger concepts and goals of the business users. In fact,
sometimes developers build better code if someone can give them some
context, but oftentimes they don’t even ask because they are so detail
oriented. This is a unique skill set that doesn’t fit into traditional IT and
business roles but is an important one. It means that you are a bridge and a
good communicator. Working with a mentor to hone in on your personal
experience and messaging around this concept is a worthwhile exercise.
Luckily, project experience is not that hard to obtain. As you will read in the
next section, there are many ways to volunteer to get the experience
you need.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 23

Volunteer Work
Volunteering is a great way to gain experience. It is also known as pro bono
work. If you don’t have job experience, you can volunteer. If you have Salesforce
certifications but no project experience or work experience, then volunteering
is a great way to get experience. Nonprofits are always looking for this type
of help because they have tight budgets.

Volunteer Resources
Let’s take a look at some organizations that can help you find a volunteer
opportunity.

Catch a Fire
Catch a Fire was founded in 2010 to facilitate matches between volunteers
and nonprofits to strengthen the social good sector. The organization matches
volunteers to opportunities based on skills. The service is not primarily for
Salesforce, but it is possible to search for Salesforce project work on their
website. Navigate to Find a Project under the Volunteer section and then
follow the application prompts.

Browse for Salesforce opportunities at https://www.catchafire.org/.

Taproot Foundation
The Taproot Foundation is a nonprofit with the same type of pro bono mission
as Catch a Fire. It began in 2001 and has helped more than 8,400 organizations.
Like Catch a Fire, the opportunities are not all for Salesforce, but you can find
Salesforce opportunities by going to the website https://www.taprootplus.
org/opportunities and searching for Salesforce in the opportunity search.
24 Chapter 3 | Salesforce Work Experience

VolunteerMatch
VolunteerMatch (https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/index.jsp)
began in 1998 and has 117,000 active nonprofits. Volunteers can choose to
volunteer based on location or virtually. Opportunities are not solely
Salesforce based, but you can also browse by causes and search opportunities
by typing in keywords like Salesforce to find the perfect match for you.

Points of Light Engage

Points of Light (https://engage.pointsoflight.org/) has an aggregator
named Engage that collates volunteer opportunities and makes them available
in a web search. Search for Salesforce opportunities and then click through to
the posting on the source site and follow the specific directions. For example,
the results of the search will show display postings on other sites such as
Catch a Fire.

Idealist
Idealist (https://www.idealist.org) is a nonprofit that started in 1995,
with the goal of helping people around the world live free and dignified lives.
Their search engine aggregates volunteer opportunities from its own listings
as well as sources from such as Volunteer Match, Points of Life, and
AARP. Search for Salesforce in the search to see specific Salesforce volunteer
opportunities.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 25

Recruiters
Once you obtain Salesforce project experience, working with a recruiter can
help you expedite the job search. Recruiters can help you learn how to present
yourself and put your résumé together. There are many Salesforce recruiters.
Some recruiters work for Salesforce partners, referred to as an internal
recruiter, and recruit for the one company they work for. Other recruiters
work for recruiting companies that specialize in Salesforce recruiting, and
some work for recruiting companies that do not specialize at all but recruit
for IT jobs in general. Since there are so many recruiters in the Salesforce
space, it is important to do your due diligence and ask each specific recruiter
who they work for and what they specialize in.
Recruiters can also help you with your résumé if you do not have a mentor.
Often the ones who work at an independent company will offer these services
versus the recruiters who work for the same company that they are recruiting
for. Make sure that your goals are aligned with the roles that they are trying
to fill if you ask for résumé feedback.
Recruiters can also help you find different working arrangements such as part-
time or independent contracting at an hourly rate. They will help you find
options if you are looking for a job with more flexibility than the traditional 9
to 5, 40-hour-a-week salary job. This type of employee is often referred to as
a W2 employee named after the tax form for these types of employees.
Once you post your certifications and some job experience on your LinkedIn
page, the recruiters will start sending you messages on LinkedIn. This is
because you will come up in their searches when they start looking for
resources to fill roles.
Of course, there are endless job aggregators who post Salesforce jobs, but I
have found that the best jobs show up in LinkedIn through network
connections. Oftentimes people in your network will post jobs that show up
in your feed. This is another reason why making connections in the Salesforce
ecosystem is so important.
Experience and certifications go a long way in the technology field, and
Salesforce projects are no exception. In fact, it is possible to get by on these
two strategies alone. I know several people without college degrees who are
successful Salesforce consultants because they have certifications and
continuous project experience.
Tapping into key learning resources can help you achieve your goals in the
Salesforce ecosystem. For example, my friend, Wendy, used some of these
resources to get back into the workforce after being away from it for 15 years.
Despite having a BS in Electrical Engineering and more than 10 years of work
experience, she was finding the job search challenging. Wendy decided to
start studying for her Administrator certification and volunteered for her
26 Chapter 3 | Salesforce Work Experience

local community theater company which was using the free Salesforce
Nonprofit Success Pack to keep track of their donations. After a few months,
she found an internship as a Salesforce Administrator. She also signed up for
RAD classes, the developer bootcamp given by Salesforce, and took Apex
classes. Soon after, Wendy got a job as a Salesforce developer.
So, learning Salesforce is an important piece in the journey of becoming a
knowledgeable Salesforce consultant. But being able to identify the things you
don’t know and figuring out the best next step for learning them are key to
both getting experience and finding a job.

Summary
In this chapter, you learned what type of job experience most employers look
for when hiring a Salesforce consultant. You also learned how to volunteer for
pro bono work to gain Salesforce experience if you do not have any. You also
learned the types of recruiters and how to work with recruiters and how to
use LinkedIn to find job postings.

Resources
Catch a Fire, https://www.catchafire.org/
Taproot Foundation, https://taprootfoundation.org/
Volunteer Match, https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/index.jsp
Points of Light Engage, https://engage.pointsoflight.org/
Idealist, https://www.idealist.org
 PA R T

II

Preparing for a
Software Project
 CHAPTER

The Evolution
of Software
Development
The process of creating software has gone through several significant
incarnations that are important to understand if you want to advise clients on
the best way to develop software. The activity of writing software for
computers began in the middle of the 20th century using tools and techniques
that would be unfamiliar to most people today. Automation led to digital
modernization strategies with priorities from companies to make changes to
software more and more often. Newer project management methodologies
such as Agile and Scrum incorporated the concept of continuous feedback to
accommodate the pace of change. The software development lifecycle
emerged as the need to create efficiency around the process of creating
software intensified. At first, project management methodologies such as
Waterfall were sufficient, but gradually other methodologies emerged to keep
up with the accelerating need for software changes.

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_4
30 Chapter 4 | The Evolution of Software Development

Software development started in the 1950s, and almost immediately engineers

strove to find ways to make software faster.1 Even as early as the beginning of
the 19th century, people used rectangle cards with punched-out holes
(Figure 4-1). These were called punch cards. Every line of a punch card had a
couple of holes that were punched out in a certain area of the card. Depending
on where the holes were on the card, they represented different characters
that made up words or numbers.

Figure 4-1. Census worker with Hollerith pantograph punch. Source: Truesdell, Leon E.,
The Development of Punch Card Tabulation in the Bureau of the Census: 1890-1940, US GPO,
1965, page 144

IBM dominated the landscape of punch cards and machines in the 1960s and
1970s.2 Punch card programming employed a method known as structured
programming. The disadvantage of this type of programming is when changes
have to be made to a program, the corresponding changes have to be made in
each place in the program that effects that change. This can be a very time-
consuming process if the program is large.
The need to change software programs often has only increased as time has
gone on and the speed at which we communicate has increased. From landline
phones to email to texting to social media, communication is faster than ever.

Automation
A lot of Salesforce projects support digital modernization strategies.
Companies are under pressure to digitize their services and to automate their
processes.3 As a Salesforce consultant, it is important to know how to best

1
CS302: Jared King’s “The History of Software.” learn.saylor.org. Retrieved 04-06-2021.
2
“The IBM Punched Card.” Retrieved on 04-06-2021 from: http://www-03.ibm.com/
ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/punchcard/
3
Afshar, Vala, Top 8 trends shaping digital transformation in 2021, https://www.zdnet.
com/article/top-8-trends-shaping-digital-transformation-in-2021/
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 31

support employees who are going through these types of changes. Jobs may
change from paper based, and new skills need to be learned. Tasks that
automation cannot replace can be viewed as tasks that complement the
automated tasks.4 For example, rote repetition from software and creativity
from a person are where humans and machines work together. They work
hand in hand to achieve goals not against each other. We still need humans to
do skills that require flexibility, judgment, creativity, and common sense.5
Automation replaces routine jobs that can be codified. Rote tasks can be
codified, which saves time, and humans can work on the higher-order thinking
that they are better at doing. For example, Bloom’s taxonomy of thinking
skills includes application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and creation.6 These
are all skills in which humans excel. These concepts may be new ways of
thinking about technology for your clients, but it is important that you take
the time to educate them if you see a need.
If you have a client who is worried that automation will replace their job,
looking to the lessons of the past is helpful. In the beginning of the 19th
century, agriculture was the dominant industry. Then the automobile was
invented, and machines substituted manpower. There was no longer a need
for blacksmiths, but there was a need for car mechanics. While some jobs
became obsolete, other things like gas stations were born. Technology did
not eliminate jobs in the long term, but jobs changed. In another example
from the 1980s, ATMs did not replace bank tellers. The number of banks rose,
but the number of bank tellers per branch fell. Bank tellers became more
involved in relationship banking.
As a Salesforce consultant, you may encounter people who think that their
jobs may be eliminated due to automation, and they worry there won’t be
enough new jobs to replace the old ones. But this concern has been around
for a long time. In the 1950s, Lyndon Johnson created the Blue-Ribbon
National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress to
study this problem. Their final conclusion was that automation did not lead to
a decline in jobs.7 Automation does change the types of jobs that are needed.
Certain jobs may become obsolete, but there is plenty of new work. In other
words, automation complements output, which in turn leads to more labor.
Computers substitute for workers in routine tasks while amplifying the need
for people to do problem solving and creativity-based jobs. And the tacit

4
Journal of Economic Perspectives, https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/
jep.29.3.3
5
ibid. p. 3
6
Higher Order Thinking: Bloom’s Taxonomy, https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-
and-tools/higher-order-thinking/
7
Journal of Economic Perspectives, https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/
jep.29.3.3
32 Chapter 4 | The Evolution of Software Development

knowledge that people have is very powerful when coupled with the knowledge
that an automated system produces. Being open to change and open to
learning new skills is the right mindset to have. Change happens more often
than it used to, and being adaptable is important.

Software Development Lifecycle

In the 1960s, the software development lifecycle (SDLC) emerged as a
framework to plan, implement, test, document, deploy, and maintain software.
It started as the “systems development lifecycle” to help businesses manage
their systems.8 A software framework is a way to logically organize the
activities around creating an application into a standard process that is
repeatable no matter the type of software. This guidebook covers two major
types of project management methodologies, Waterfall and Agile, that
complement the SDCL framework, since these are the ones you will most
likely encounter on a Salesforce project. There are several adaptations of
Agile. Scrum9 is one example and one that you may hear about on Salesforce
projects. Many consulting firms create their own proprietary methodologies
to suit their business needs. Sometimes teams refer to their methodologies
as “semi-agile” or “wagile,” meaning a combination of Agile and Waterfall. The
reason that they spend the time and effort doing this is to take the parts of
the methodologies that they like and combine them into something new to
suit their services or product.

Waterfall
Waterfall is a sequential way to create a piece of software. Each step is
followed one step after the next in a linear fashion until the application is
complete. Like structured programming, it is also time-consuming to make
changes with the Waterfall approach, and clients often change their mind
about what they want.10 Also, if there is a misalignment between what the
clients want and what the developers build, then the time to complete can
drastically increase.
I have seen clients change their minds over and again about what they want.
It is a common occurrence in the evolution of an application and is expected
behavior. A client usually doesn’t know exactly what they want, but they know

8
Elliott, G. (2004). Global Business Information Technology: An Integrated Systems
Approach. United Kingdom: Pearson Addison Wesley.
9
https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-scrum
10
Bogdan-Alexandru ANDREI, “A Study on Using Waterfall and Agile Methods in Software
Project Management.” Journal of Information Systems & Operations Management, www.rebe.
rau.ro/RePEc/rau/jisomg/SU19/JISOM-SU19-A12.pdf
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 33

what they like when they see it, and it sparks their curiosity, and they can
envision the next evolution. However, they can often get ahead of themselves
and ask for full-blown automation right away.
For example, a client may be refactoring their manual paper process to process
automation with approval processes and data migrations. Salesforce advises a
Crawl, Walk, Run approach to regulate this very behavior.11 While it is exciting
to see a client envision their future, a consultant must be able to be a guide
and lead the way to get there in a responsible manner. The Crawl, Walk, Run
approach can be applied to any project. In the example with a manual paper
process, crawling may consist of getting the information into Salesforce and
setting up the fields, Walking may consist of creating approval processes and
other automation, and running may consist of creating a near real-time data
integration.
Figure 4-2 shows the structure of a Waterfall project. A Waterfall project
starts with the client business users or their representatives explaining what
they would like for their software to do to the project team. These are the
requirements, and they can consist of describing a software that they currently
have and what they like and don’t like about it. There may be a demo of the
current software. They may talk about the business processes that they have.
The development team writes the requirements and then designs a solution
for the client. Then they develop the software and test it and then give it back
to the client.

Figure 4-2. Waterfall

Kathy Koh-Gigant, Crawl, Walk, Run: A Guide to Salesforce Implementation, https://www.

11

salesforce.org/blog/crawl-walk-run-salesforce-implementation-guide/
34 Chapter 4 | The Evolution of Software Development

Acceleration of Change
The software development lifecycle has significantly accelerated in the 21st
century. This means the amount of time that used to be acceptable to develop
a piece of software is no longer acceptable. Waterfall development is a style
of development that is left over from this slower era. As you just learned, in
Waterfall all requirements are gathered and written before a single piece of
code is written. Then at the end of the project, the client finally gets to see
the finished product. In Agile, the development phase cycles through sprints
that are a short amount of time for planning, development, and feedback. This
creates iterative development. An agile project has more than one sprint.
Generally, if a project has one sprint, then it is considered a Waterfall project.

Agile
Agile is a class of methodologies that is used to organize and manage complex
software development projects. In 2001, 17 software developers created the
Agile Manifesto, which established the values around this approach. The
elegance of Agile is that it is flexible enough for any team to adopt. Emphasis
is placed on individuals over processes, working software over comprehensive
documentation, client collaboration over contract language, and nimbly
responding to change instead of following a plan.12 Scrum is a popular type of
Agile. There are several others such as Kanban, Extreme Programming, and
Feature-Driven Development.
Agile projects have a backlog, which is a list of items that need to be done on
a project.13 A project backlog is a list of user stories that are written from the
end-user point of view such as a salesperson or a customer service person.
The user stories describe what the person would like to do in their process.
These stories are written so they are independent of technology or a solution.
Unique roles on an Agile project using Scrum include scrum master and
product owner. Scrum masters help teams apply the rules of Agile. This is a
different role than project managers, who have different responsibilities.
There is more on this distinction in responsibilities in Chapter 5. The scrum
master protects the team and helps resolve obstacles to problems. They do
not make decisions on the software solution itself. They are more of a guide
or a coach. The product owner decides which features should be built first.
Oftentimes this role is found on the client side.

12
The Agile Manifesto, https://agilemanifesto.org/
13
Bogdan-Alexandru ANDREI, “A Study on Using Waterfall and Agile Methods in Software
Project Management.” Journal of Information Systems & Operations Management, http://
www.rebe.rau.ro/RePEc/rau/jisomg/SU19/JISOM-SU19-A12.pdf, p.127
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 35

Sprinting
The biggest difference between Agile and Waterfall is the concept of sprints.
Sprints are a time-boxed unit of time for which a predetermined amount of
work is performed. For example, a project could have a sprint that lasts two
weeks. This means the development team would work on a specific amount
of work for those two weeks. During that time they will attend Agile
ceremonies or meetings to help move the sprint along.
At the end of a sprint, a team might go right into another sprint called sprint
2. And this can go on and on. I once joined a project during its 16th sprint. It
ended at 17, which was more than enough for that project. The team had
been sprinting for 10 months straight, and it was time to release the software.
Another key difference that sets Agile projects apart from Waterfall are the
timing of demos. In Agile, demos are held at the end of each sprint. It is during
the demo that a developer invites the client to a meeting and shows them the
little bit of work that they have been doing. Then the client tells the
development team their initial impressions. This is the heart of continuous
feedback and iteration (Figure 4-3). The team tweaks their work, adjusts their
user story, refines the functionality, and shows the client the work again at the
next demo. Then the team can move on to another piece of functionality. In
Waterfall projects, demos occur at the end of development. If ambiguities
arise and clarifying questions need to be made, then this isn’t the most efficient
approach and can cause rework, which impacts the time and cost of the
project. Waterfall can work fine if the project is small.14 A small team can
most likely manage the solution and scope for a short timeline.

Figure 4-3. Agile is based on cycles of iterative development driven by continuous feedback

14
ibid. p.127
36 Chapter 4 | The Evolution of Software Development

The Value of Continuous Feedback

The problem with Waterfall development is illustrated in the famous cartoon
shown in Figure 4-4. The client asked for a tire swing. Each box illustrates how
different members of the team interpreted that request. In the first box, the
client explains what is a “tier swing” for some reason. Maybe it was their
accent, who knows! Miscommunication happens quickly and easily. So from
the very beginning, the tire is left out of the requirements. But as you can see
from box 12, what they need is a tire swing.

Figure 4-4. Tree Swing picture. Source: Adapted from Mirai, Michi, Project Management -
A Tree Swing Story, ZenTao, July 11, 2020, https://www.zentao.pm/agile-knowledge-
share/tree-swing-project-management-cartoon-97.mhtml, image source: https://
urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.projectcartoon.com/cartoon/11111

The second box shows that the project leader understood that the client
wanted a swing but probably didn’t understand what “tier” meant so just
interpreted the request as a swing. If he had asked the client to repeat what
they said or repeated back what he heard then, this could have been avoided.
Requirements gathering is an important first step in a project, and communi-
cation should be fluid like the type that is found in a conversation. See more
on communication techniques in Chapter 11.
The third box illustrates a funny/not funny outcome that can happen if an
analyst over-engineers business requirements and doesn’t incorporate a
solution design to illustrate what is possible. The product is impossible to
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 37

build in real life as the requirements are written. This is a common occurrence,
and it is easy to blame the client if you are working in a vacuum. Feedback at
this point would have helped get the project back on track. But instead, the
developer built what was possible (fourth box). The code did include key
elements such as the two ropes looped around a tree. There was probably no
acceptance criteria because the product is still not usable and not testable
(fifth box), and there was no process or accountability from anyone on the
team for writing documentation (seventh box). The fourth box illustrates that
programmers often have no context and just build what they are asked to
build without thinking about the big picture. To give developers some credit
here, oftentimes they are not told what the big picture is and what the client
actually wants to do with the product and are not invited to client-facing
meetings.
This cartoon also illustrates the work that goes into making a product.
Marketing (11th box) actually took the time to make a snazzy, slick sheet
before the client even saw a mockup of the design because there was no
design. Remarkably operations got the closest to what the client really wanted,
but it was incomplete. They barely got started but probably thought they
were done. This is something a demo with the client could have easily
remedied. They would have said this is not a minimum viable product. It is a
rope hanging from a tree, not a swing. It also shows the disconnect between
developers and operations. Handoffs are important so that everyone aligns
on expectation, assumptions, design, and process. More on this in Chapter 6.
All in all, the client paid a lot of money (ninth box) for something they didn’t
even want, and they probably decided they didn’t want to work with the
consultant again because they were out of money (ninth box). The consultant
over-promised (sixth box) and failed to deliver (eighth box). Had refinements,
continuous feedback, and course corrections been done early and throughout
the project, it would have saved time money and the end result would have
aligned to the actual vision.

Summary
Software has evolved over time as the pace of change has accelerated. As
technological innovations have given way to more efficient machines, software
has played a big role in automating systems and processes. Humans who once
had to perform rote tasks can hand off these activities to software much in
the same way they handed off muscle power to machines. Software frameworks
have evolved to accommodate a world where the need for change is ubiquitous.
It is important to teach your clients the evanescent lessons of past technology
transformation such as from horse to car so they can think in analogous terms
about their present challenges. And providing soliciting continuous feedback
during the software project is a powerful technique that little by little will
shape and align the application to the client vision.
38 Chapter 4 | The Evolution of Software Development

Resources
• Punch Card Programming, Computerphile, https://
youtu.be/KG2M4ttzBnY; professor Brailsford describes
the mechanics of a stack of punch card from the 1970s
• Bubbles Whiting, Using Punch Cards, Hollerith and IBM, The
Center for Computing History, https://youtu.be/L7jAOcc9kBU
• The Agile Manifesto, https://agilemanifesto.org/
 CHAPTER

Common
Project Roles
When you work on a Salesforce project, you can be a functional or technical
consultant. A role is a specific job. Functional roles include project management
and roles that directly interface with the client. Technical roles include
developer and architect, but there is overlap, and oftentimes these roles also
interact with the client. Usually, the interaction is more about the solution
and not the terms of the contract. There are many resources created by
successful Salesforce professionals that can be useful to reference depending
on your role.

What Is a Consultant?
I met Behzad Habibzai in 2015 when I was working for an up-and-coming
systems integrator, a Salesforce partner. Behzad was the Salesforce
administrator for the partner firm, but as I later learned is also an accomplished
flamenco guitar player.1 He had a warm, outgoing personality when I told him
how important I thought his role was to a company full of Salesforce
consultants. As the years went by, Behzad and I kept in touch and had the
chance to work together again when he became a consultant for another firm

1
https://www.behzadhabibzai.com/

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_5
40 Chapter 5 | Common Project Roles

where I worked. He helped on both the admin side and as a consultant,

eventually making the switch to a full-time consultant. He has worked in the
ecosystem for nine years now and has eight certifications, but he has
accumulated them at a pace of about one a year, which I have always thought
was a smart and manageable way to go about it. He prides himself on his
breadth of Salesforce knowledge from the Sales, Service, Experience, and
Education clouds as well as in automation, reporting, data migration, and
AppExchange products. He even dabbles in Apex (coding) from time to time.
I think Behzad is a good example of a consultant who approaches Salesforce
consulting in a smart and manageable way. It’s not a race. It’s a journey full of
growth and learning that collects. This approach will give you the flexibility to
have a balanced life with time to hone your passions and talents both in your
career and in life outside of work.
Consulting experience takes time to accumulate in order to turn you into an
expert who advises. No matter your role, your experiences pile up over
time. Each project you complete gives you a new layer of knowledge. No two
projects are alike, so the more projects you experience, the more dynamic
your wisdom becomes. When you work on a Salesforce project, think of each
person on the project team as a consultant. It is the job of the team to give
the client the best implementation journey and act as a trusted adviser who
guides the client to the solution that meets their goals. Client goals often
come from their strategic plan. They may have key performance indicators
(KPIs) that are tied to a strategic goal and are measurable. Salesforce is often
seen as a tool that can be used to help reach and measure these goals. See
Chapter 8 for more on how to use KPIs to shape a solution.
The job function that a consultant takes on in a project is called a role. Each
consultant on the team is assigned a role. Roles are assigned to a project
based on the scope of work and have different areas of skill specialization.
Consultants may also switch roles from one project to the next, but they are
still considered consultants. On agile projects, this is seen as a strength,
because they can act as backups for their teammates. This type of redundancy
makes a project team stronger. Each role has a distinct set of activities and
responsibilities that can vary from project to project. As long as everyone on
the team knows what the roles and responsibilities are and what the crossover
tasks are, then the team will be healthy and productive. See Chapter 7 on
project preparation and knowing your role.
When you are just starting out and are not sure what type of role that you
want to specialize in, I suggest having an open mind to project roles. If you see
yourself as a consultant first and the project as a new experience, there is less
of a reason to get hung up on the role. Also, if you see the roles not in terms
of who has the most perceived power but more as a team of people working
together, then the role you choose should not matter as much. Power and
influence can come from any role on the team and are separate from doing
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 41

the work. Wisdom accumulates with experience, so consultants advise on

knowledge gained from past projects, and that should really be your goal: to
gain as much experience and knowledge as possible.

 hat Is the Difference Between Functional

W
and Technical Roles?
To be an effective Salesforce consultant, you need to have a mix of both
functional and technical skills. Functional skills are soft consulting skills like
communication, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and client
management. Part III of this book goes over these key functional skills in
detail. The remainder of this chapter explains the technical and functional
roles with references to resources to acquire more specific skills.
Sometimes you run across people who are part technical and part functional.
This is an important skill because they serve as a bridge between the technical
work and the vision and strategy. They have the ability to translate business
language into technical language and are often very strong communicators
who know how to properly use analogies to help people understand each
other. Similar to a translator between two languages, they translate between
technical speak and business speak. Every business has its own set of jargon
and acronyms. Technofunctional people are very good at learning new business
jargon quickly.
For example, a technofunctional person may find themselves trying to explain
the concept of an object to a client who works on the business side. They
may have to do this because the client business user is asking for a change at
the end of the project that will require a data model change. Using technical
language with the business user will not work. The ability to translate in this
case comes in handy. Here the consultant might say, “The change you are
asking for is as complex as adding a new room to the middle of a house after
it has already been built and wired with electricity. We could do it, but we are
going to have to undo a lot of other stuff, and it will cost more time and
money to do. Perhaps there is a better alternative that we can discuss or we
can plan this for the future.”
Conversely, a technofunctional consultant may have to explain the big picture
to a developer who has spent too much time on the details of a solution. For
example, if a client is going from a paper-based system to a workflow
automated system, they may not need to create complex logical triggers on
edge case scenarios before they have gotten used to the new job processes
that the database creates. Their efficiency will sky rocket with a minimal first-
step solution, and they may not even be aware of the time they will save or
completely understand how they want the app to evolve until they have spent
some time getting used to it. In this example, the technofunctional consultant
42 Chapter 5 | Common Project Roles

should explain the big picture to the developer consultant using analogies
again. For example, Salesforce has a term it recommends using for this
common scenario called “Crawl, Walk, Run.” Salesforce advises consultants
to tell clients to crawl first with a minimum viable product and then ease into
full-blown automation. It is more of an evolutionary approach. So, the
technofunctional consultant would tell the developer, “This client is in the
crawl phase of Crawl, Walk, Run. They don’t need complex triggers, and
status changes should be mostly manual until we get to walking, which isn’t on
the roadmap for at least six months when we start doing the integration.”
Developers can build really cool apps, but they can also build apps that are
overly complex and can become unusable to the end user, as we saw in the
previous chapter with the swing example. That’s why the technofunctional
role is so critical.
To put a fine point on this, in this example, if the project manager is purely
functional and the developer is purely technical, they may fail to communicate
what the client really needs. Remember in Figure 4-4, the last square is what
the client really needs. “What does the client want?” is one of the most
important questions that a Salesforce consultant has to keep asking themselves
during a project, and if no one on your project is doing that, it is a big risk. My
advice is if you want to bring the most value to a team, then be the person
who reminds everyone of the big picture at critical times. Yes, sometimes
even the obvious can be overlooked. This is why technofunctional roles are so
important. They are the people who remind us why we are all here.

Roles
A role is your job title on a project. It is important to distinguish this from
your job title for the company that you work for. If you are a consultant, you
probably work for a consulting firm. This is the company that pays you. If you
work for a consulting firm, your title might be Consultant, Senior Consultant,
Manager, or Director. These titles are general and have more to do with your
level of consulting experience, which is what the consulting firm is concerned
about. The consulting firm uses this leveling to determine how much to charge
the client for your services.
If you are working for a reputable firm, then you have opportunities to interact
with other consultants to share and learn about different project experiences
and career timelines. You may find mentors this way, especially after you
decide on a specialty. Technologies change all the time. Some consulting firms
don’t specialize in Salesforce but in a lot of technologies. But there are also
smaller firms or boutique firms that do. But if a technology gets big enough
like Salesforce has, then the bigger consulting firms will create practices
dedicated to one technology.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 43

The next section explains the most common roles that you will find on a
Salesforce project. This is not an exhaustive list. It is based on my experience
and is what I have observed from dozens of projects and the hundreds of
other Salesforce consultants I have met along the way.

Project Managers, Scrum Masters

Project managers and scrum masters are functional roles in charge of managing
a project. Project managers initiate, plan, execute, monitor, and close projects.
They follow a project management framework with their own set of tools and
methods depending on the type of project. They often have the Project
Management Professional (PMP) certification issued by the Project Management
Institute. Scrum masters are certified by the Scrum Alliance and are a type of
project manager who is trained to manage Agile projects.
There are three major constraints that project managers use to balance
projects. They are scope, schedule, and cost (see Figure 5-1). Project managers
are constantly trying to maintain equilibrium between these three constraints
throughout the life of a project. They also manage risks and issues as methods
to help keep the three constraints balanced.

Figure 5-1. Constraints

44 Chapter 5 | Common Project Roles

The scope of a project defines the breadth and depth of the work. Scope is
derived from the statement of work or contract. The team breaks down the
scope into workable pieces called a work breakdown structure. At the beginning
of a project, the team holds a series of meetings called discovery and asks the
client detailed questions about the project scope. (See Chapter 8 for more on
discovery.) The output of these meetings are the written requirements or
user stories for Agile projects. These requirements help the project manager
manage the scope of the work and create traceability as the project progresses
into the testing phase.
Project managers use an industry-standard method for measuring the financial
progress of a project and forecasting future work; it’s called earned-value
analysis (EVA). A time and materials contract in which a consultant’s time is
billed by the hour is an example of a situation where EVA is a critical tool for
measuring if the project is over or under budget. Some projects are sold for
a fixed-price lump sum. For these projects, managing scope creep becomes
critical. Scope creep occurs when the client asks for little changes that are
beyond the scope of the contract. Usually, project teams are inclined to make
small changes that take less than 15 minutes because they want to help and
find it difficult to say no to something so simple, but these types of requests
are a slippery slope and can quickly get out of control and evolve into
something else entirely. Properly managing scope creep and having the
communication skills set to tell a client “no” in a straightforward yet diplomatic
way is an important consulting skill to learn. See Chapter 12 for more on
scope creep management, and see Chapter 11 for more on communication
techniques.
To manage the timeline, project managers create project schedules with
activity lists that measure the duration of the activities as well as the costs.
Both project managers and scrum masters spend a great deal of time
monitoring project timelines to make sure that activities are being completed
by team members. Sometimes this is referred to as “driving a project toward
completion.” Activities sometimes get stuck or “blocked,” as scrum masters
often say. A large part of this job is to help team members get unblocked by
clearing away various impediments so the project doesn’t churn and miss
deadlines. Unsticking a blocked activity may mean turning a risk into an issue
and escalating it to upper management decision-makers, or it could also mean
bringing two experts together to have a conversation and work through a
logical problem to make the best decision under the current circumstances.
On Agile projects, scrum masters manage the development timeline using
sprints. Learn more about this in Chapter 9.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 45

Business Analyst, Business Architect

Business analysts manage the requirements and capabilities in a project. They
write user stories and create process flows that map out the client’s business
processes. They usually start their work during discovery where they lead the
business users through a series of questions to map out their processes. If the
project involves business project reengineering, which a lot of Salesforce
projects do, then the business analyst will map out the current business
processes or current state and then work with the business stakeholders to
determine where they need improvement to arrive at a future state. On
Salesforce projects, it is common for people in this role to also do the
configuration in the Salesforce org. Configuration is point-and-click work.
This means setting up the back-end system by clicking fields on or off. I am
simplifying it a little because it can be quite complicated to know which setting
to configure, but the main point is that it does not involve writing lines of
code. You may have seen promotions from Salesforce that say “clicks not
code.” I’ve even seen the software industry as a whole refer to this concept
as “low code, no code.” In both cases, they are referring to configuration
interfaces.
A business architect is a strategic job who analyzes business processes across
business units. They focus on improving business operations to align with
goals and strategy. They often use a method called roadmapping, which is a
way to plan for changes over a long period of time.

Solution Architect
Solution architects analyze the requirements, process flows, and any other
work products created by the business analyst. They also work closely with
project managers to understand the balance of the three critical constraints
of the project. As you learned in the previous section, these are cost, time,
and scope. They study the project management plan, risks and issues, and any
other pertinent information to determine the best technical path forward.
The work products from other team members serve as inputs for solution
architects to use creativity and logic to design and architect solutions that
solve technical problems so that the complexity of the architecture is kept to
a minimum and overengineering is avoided.
For example, sometimes stakeholders ask for functionality that is beyond the
capabilities of point-and-click configuration and requires custom development
to complete. But the project might be constrained by a tight budget that
cannot be exceeded even through a change order. The impact to the solution
is that there is no flexibility for custom development. More development
time increases the cost. Custom development involves working with Apex
code and takes more time than configuration changes in a Salesforce org.
46 Chapter 5 | Common Project Roles

Apex is a strongly typed, object-oriented programming language developed by

Salesforce. It works on the Lightning platform server by allowing developers
to execute flow and transaction control statements in conjunction with calls
to the Lightning Platform APl. The solution architect may also have conversa-
tions or “solutioning” sessions to help the stakeholder make decisions.
Solutioning should never start before all the requirements are collected. Team
members may talk through various options for the project, but it is the solu-
tion architect’s responsibility to create the solution.

Change Manager, Trainer

The change manager is the role in charge of user adoption and training.
Sometimes this role is split into two roles, change manager and trainer.
Change managers commonly receive certifications from an organization
named Prosci, which has a professional training program and change
management certification program that teaches students how to use their
Adkar methodology. Adkar is an acronym that stands for Awareness, Desire,
Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement and is designed to lead organizations
through change.
Change managers work with the stakeholders to identify influencers to help
craft a vision for change as well as a plan to execute the change throughout
the company. They collaborate to develop socialization strategies that fit
within the culture of the organization and then execute on methods to bring
about user adoption and reinforcement. For example, the change manager
may develop a communication schedule that lists the types of communication
methods that will be used to communicate with different audiences in a
company. Examples are town halls for company-wide announcements or email
newsletters for weekly updates to the project team and stakeholders. Change
managers also work closely with the scrum team to document changes to the
current stakeholder process to understand the types of changes being made
and who they will impact. This work product serves as an input to the training
curriculum.
The trainer creates a curriculum for the end-user training that is based on the
work that the development team is completing. For example, if a project has
six sprints, the trainer may work a sprint behind the development team to
create the training materials for the features and functionality that has already
been completed and accepted. The trainer leads classes at various intervals
both for end users as well as for Salesforce administrators. The classes focus
on the implementation and rarely are Salesforce training classes. If the students
are new to Salesforce, the trainer will often recommend pertinent trailhead
modules or outside classes as a supplement.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 47

When project teams are small, the training activities are picked up by other
roles on the project such as project manager, business analysts, or solution
architect. It is common for the team to hold a session called Train the Trainer
that is intended to teach a few stakeholders the implementation so that they
can hold their own internal training classes. This helps keep project costs
down for the client. It is also common to hold administrator training using this
same small team format to teach the client administrator about the new
changes that were made during the implementation so they can properly
maintain the system for the end users.

Certified Technical Architect

The certified technical architect (CTA) role overlaps with the developer and
data architect roles and depending on the skill level of the person even the
solution architect role. This is a high-level technical role that plans the
architecture of the systems that are needed to maintain an enterprise-wide
digital initiative or a large-scale Salesforce deployment. CTAs know how to
adhere to analysis, design, and development standards. This role is
knowledgeable about integration points and related implementation
architecture for business usage improvements, scalability, and performance.
For example, a CTA will often have many of the skills that are expected from
data analysts, developers, and solution architects such as integrating Salesforce
with other applications, synchronizing Salesforce with external systems and
data sources, or even knowing when and how to use process flows, triggers,
sharing, data, visibility, and security.
The certification path to attain the CTA designation is not easy. It takes at
least two to three years if not longer to achieve. There are numerous
certifications needed as prerequisites, and then applicants are required to sit
for a review board exam.2 This certification is so difficult that the number of
people with the certification is only in the hundreds.3 On the other hand, the
salaries for this role are some of the highest in the Salesforce ecosystem from
USD $136,515 for a junior level to USD $167,466 for the senior level.4

2
Salesforce Architect Journeys, https://trailhead.salesforce.com/credentials/
architectoverview
3
Becoming a Salesforce Certified Technical Architect – Thoughts From 9 CTAs, Retrieved
May 18, 2021, https://www.salesforceben.com/become-a-salesforce-certified-
technical-architect/
4
Salesforce Technical Architect Salary, Mason Frank International, Retrieved May 26, 2021,
https://www.masonfrank.com/salesforce-salary-survey/salesforce-technical-
architect-salary
48 Chapter 5 | Common Project Roles

Also, a new industry of CTA coaches has emerged to support candidates

through this process. Flow Republic (https://flowrepublic.com/) is one
such company. It offers CTA coaching to help candidates study for the CTA as
well as a communication bootcamp that is intended to help introverts
struggling to speak effectively.
Many technical architects have not finished all the certification requirements
but are still quite knowledgeable and bring tremendous value to projects.

Data Architect
A data architect is a technical role. They work with clients to help turn their
data into knowledge that solves business problems. Sometimes this means
the data architect plans and creates data models showing the relationships
between data tables or objects and fields. Other times, the data architect
advises on how to connect and move data from one place to another in a
secure way. This is referred to as a data migration. An integration, a subcategory
of a migration, is a way to combine data from two different sources to give
users a unified view of them and is also a common component of a Salesforce
implementation for which this role is responsible.
Highly skilled people in this role may do everything from data migrations and
integrations to data mappings and transforming data using ETL tools and
connectors. ETL is shorthand for extract, transform, load, the common data
process of copying data from one place and making it fit into the context of
the new place. Data mappings are part of the transformation work to map
fields to one another sometimes by creating rules to do this. Salesforce has a
data import tool that comes with the platform called Dataloader.io, but
sometimes clients have licenses to more robust ETL tools such as Informatica,
and those may be utilized for data transformation work.
A skilled Salesforce data architect will also understand how Salesforce’s data
theory is different from traditional relational databases and their normalization
rules. They will understand the trade-offs that Salesforce made to the platform
for speed and limitations with SOQL, which is Salesforce’s version of SQL.5
SQL stands for structured query language and is a language used to access and
manipulate data from databases.
In 2019, Salesforce acquired a powerful analytical platform called Tableau. This
acquisition significantly extends the analytical capability of the Salesforce.
Tableau has drag-and-drop visual analysis that makes creating data visualizations
fast. Tableau has a separate certification program, community group, and
learning program, although Trailhead does have quite a few Tableau modules.

5
Masri, David, Developing Data Migrations and Integrations with Salesforce, p.13–35,
https://www.apress.com/gp/book/9781484242087
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 49

There is also a popular role called a data visualization specialist who specializes
in creating data visualizations from multiple sources of useful information.
These visualizations can help clients make decisions. For example, data
visualization specialists may utilize analytical and visualization tools to
aggregate geographic, demographic, military, and academic data to design and
deliver an infographic on what it takes to become a NASA astronaut and put
it on Tableau Public to share in a public space. (See Figure 5-2.)6

Figure 5-2. Visualization (Source: Kumar, Vinodh, What Does It Take to Become a NASA
Astronaut, Tableau Public, retrieved on May 27, 2021, https://public.tableau.com/en-us/
gallery/what-does-take-become-nasa-astronaut?tab=viz-of-the-day&type=viz-of-
the-day)

6
What Does It Take to Become a NASA Astronaut, Retrieved on May 27, 2021, https://
public.tableau.com/en-us/gallery/what-does-take-become-nasa-astronaut?
tab=viz-of-the-day&type=viz-of-the-day
50 Chapter 5 | Common Project Roles

Developer
There is a high demand for developers, so if this is the role you chose, you will
have many opportunities. A Salesforce developer is skilled in the proprietary
coding language owned by Salesforce called Apex, which is similar to Java.
Developers write code to extend the platform when point-and-click
configuration is not enough to implement a solution. Salesforce also created
Visualforce pages that are similar to HTML pages. HyperText Markup Language
(HTML) is a basic foundation of web pages.

Women in Programming
If you think programming is just for men, think again. In fact, the first computer
programmer was a woman. Her name was Ada Lovelace (Figure 5-3), and she
was a mathematician born in 1815. She studied both music and math and was
way ahead of her time. She created the first algorithm, or series of instructions
for Charles Babbage’s mechanical computer idea called the Analytical Engine,
which would calculate Bernoulli numbers. Bernoulli numbers are a sequence
of numbers used to find formulas. She is seen as a visionary for her ideas and
statement that the machine “might act upon other things besides number...
the Engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any
degree of complexity or extent.”7 She realized that symbols could be
manipulated by the machine instead of just numbers. Ada’s legacy is still with
us today. The cryptocurrency ADA for the public blockchain platform Cardono
is named after her.8

7
Computer History Museum, https://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/adalovelace/,
Retrieved May 28, 2021
8
What is ADA?, https://cardano.org/what-is-ada/, Retrieved May 28, 2021
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 51

Figure 5-3. Portrait of Ada Lovelace at age 20 (Source: New York Public Library, https://
digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/8562182e-4845-db2b-e040-e00a18060ea6)

A more modern female developer is Kiran Jaescon, who began Women Code
Heroes. Kiran wanted to give back to her community after being inspired by
a local community program that her employer was involved in that taught
rural families about computers. Kiran noticed that a lot of women get stuck
as administrators who did not even realize what they were missing in
development work. Kiran also noticed that there is a barrier to entry for
some reason and wanted to do something about it. She is also one of the
cofounders of RAD Woman.9
RAD (http://radwomen.org/) stands for Radical Apex Developers and
provides a supportive and collaborative environment for female Salesforce
administrators to learn Apex. According to the National Center for Women
& Information Technology, 25 percent of technology workers are women, and
this number has been declining since 1991 when it reached a high of 36
percent. If you look at the category of software developers, the percentage
falls to just 18 percent. Female patenting is very low at only 2 percent for
female-only teams.10 RAD holds free developer classes for women who have
two years of Salesforce experience but have never coded.

9
http://womencodeheroes.com/about-me/
10
Ashcraft, Catherine, Women in Tech: The Facts, p2
52 Chapter 5 | Common Project Roles

I once had the experience of listening to a CEO opine about how he thought
he only had the option to take stay-at-home moms and make them Salesforce
administrators but not consultants, which is what he really needed. Despite
my protests, he remained unconvinced. This limiting belief surely does not
help women feel unstuck. Luckily, there are forward-thinking women like
Kiran Jaescon and also Gemma Blezard who have vision and are blazing
new trails.
Gemma Blezard founded Ladies Be Architects (https://ladies-­be-­
architects.com) as a community initiative with a mission to grow the
number of female Salesforce-certified technical architects, which like
developers is also currently an underrepresented population. Ladies Be
Architect holds virtual study groups where students can ask questions on
various topics such as sharing and visibility, fundamentals of data modeling,
and more. You can also watch the previous study groups as well on their
website (https://ladies-­be-­architects.com/category/study-­groups/
planned-­study-­groups).
Women Code Heros (http://womencodeheroes.com/) is Kiran Jaescon’s
site. The Resources and Learning to Code sections have a lot of useful
information on basic coding principles using cooking metaphors, which makes
the concepts easier to understand for new learners.

Quality Assurance Engineer

Quality assurance (QA) or testing is an important part of any project. The
ability to write comprehensive test scripts is oftentimes critical to project
success and helps to create traceability to prevent scope creep. Test scripts
are a set of instructions used to test a piece of functionality to make sure it
functions as expected. Advanced QA engineers know how to write automated
test scripts. Sometimes teams use behavior-driven development to test
software. Business analysts will write their user stories in gherkin syntax (see
Chapter 8), and then QA engineers will write their test scripts in Cucumber,
which is an input into automated testing. Selenium is a technology used to run
these types of test scripts. At this level, this role requires a technical skill set.
On the other hand, functional QAs are good at finding defects in configurations
and testing the system overall to uncover edge cases and other potential
problems simply by testing the system as a test user.
It cannot be overstated how important testing is in software development.
Sometimes teams have a tendency to rush to the finish without thorough
testing. Having a dedicated QA expert on the team is key. QA may not be for
everyone, but some of the best Salesforce consultants that I have met have
been people who have focused on QA.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 53

More on Cucumber
Wynne, Matt, & Askak Hellesoy, Steve Tooke, The Cucumber Book: Behaviour-
Driven Development for Testers and Developers 2nd Edition, https://www.
amazon.com/Cucumber-­B ook-­B ehaviour-­D riven-­D evelopment-­
Developers-­dp-­1680502387/dp/1680502387/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Role-Based Resources
Many people who are at the top of their Salesforce careers have created
resources and services for others. Here are a few recommendations from this
talented group.
The Salesforce Way (https://salesforceway.com/podcast/) podcast is
refreshing, well organized, and easy to listen to. It is hosted by Xi Xiao who
interviews different experts from the Salesforce ecosystem. Salesforce Way
doesn’t try to be too many things, which makes it very consumable for
someone visiting the site. Xi is also a good interviewer and asks questions
that help listeners understand concepts that the guests are trying to explain.
The Joys of Apex (https://james.coding.blog/) is a blog written by James
Simone. James is an interesting combination of writer and developer. His blog,
which started as a tongue-and-cheek way for developers to bond over the
limitations of the platform, has posts with names such as “The Tao of Apex”
and “Lazy Interators.” James was also a guest (https://salesforceway.
com/podcast/dml-­mocking-­for-­apex-­test) on the Salesforce Way where
he explained a DML mocking library that he created.
Automation Hour (http://www.automationhour.com), founded by Rakesh
Gupta, Jennifer Lee, and David Litton, is a webinar held every other week that
features a different special guest who presents on technical topics such as
flows, which is declarative coding or point-and-click coding.
Jitendra Zaa writes an informative technical Salesforce blog (http://www.
jitendrazaa.com/blog) that goes back to 2010.
Apex Hours (https://www.apexhours.com) is a content-rich resource with
webinars from technical experts on topics such as data modeling, Apex
triggers, Visualforce, platform events, Einstein next best actions, formulas, and
admin life hacks (http://www.apexhours.com/formulas-­and-­admin-­
lifehacks/), to name a few.
54 Chapter 5 | Common Project Roles

Nanah Gregg’s blog (https://nanahgregg.com) is a creative breath of fresh

air. She communicates technical advice through analogy and quirky musings.
For example, her hilarious but completely practical advice on org maintenance
(https://nanahgregg.com/2021/02/25/salesforce-­cleaning-­menu-­
mild-­a-­flavor-­for-­everyone) is divided by the jalapeno levels of mild,
medium, hot, and hell.

Summary
In this chapter, you learned that all the roles on a Salesforce project are
consulting roles. You learned the difference between technical and functional
roles as well as what the technofunctional role is and why it is an important
role for a project team. You also learned about the special skills for some of
the most common implementation roles including project manager and scrum
manager who oversee time, scope, and budget, as well as client-facing roles
such as business analyst, solution architect, change manager, and trainer. You
also learned about more technical roles such as technical architect, data
architect, and developer. You learned about specialized resources for women
who may need help seeing a clear path into IT. You also learned more details
about the training topics and areas of specialty for each role.

Resources
• Project Management Professional, https://www.pmi.
org/certifications/project-­management-­pmp
• Patton, Jeff, User Story Mapping, https://www.jpattonas
sociates.com/user-­story-­mapping/
• The Prosci ADKAR® Model, https://www.prosci.
com/adkar/adkar-­model
• Developing Data Migrations and Integrations with
Salesforce: Patterns and Best Practices, http://
salesforcedatablog.com/#section-­book
• Tableau Ambassador Program, https://www.tableau.
com/community/community-­leaders/ambassadors/
apply
• Tableau Public, https://public.tableau.com
• Tableau Community, https://www.tableau.com/community
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 55

• Tableau Zen Masters, collection of selected community

leaders, https://www.tableau.com/about/blog/2021/
2/introducing-­2021-­tableau-­zen-­masters
• Tableau Role-Based Learning Paths, https://www.
tableau.com/learn/learning-­paths
• Tableau Certifications, https://www.tableau.com/learn/
certification
• Salesforce offers a free developer edition (https://
developer.salesforce.com/signup) for anyone who
would like to test or practice using the platform. You
might hear it referred to as a “developer org.”
• Search the Force (https://searchtheforce.com) is a
custom search engine created by Dan Applemen created
to save research time. When you type a search term into
the search box, a list of possible search terms pop up to
help refine your search right away.
• Salesforce’s site for architects, https://architect.
salesforce.com/
 CHAPTER

Sales and
Staffing
The activities before the sale of the project are called presales. The people in
these roles are not considered consultants as they are not part of the
implementation team; however, they are still part of the Ohana community.
Some of them include contract review and resourcing planning, which you will
learn more about in this chapter. Consultants are often involved in presales
activities and can offer critical advice to set up a project for success. Once a
project is sold, the account executive will hold a sales handoff meeting to
explain the background of the project, as well as the scope, timeline, and
budget. Sales handoffs are a good time for you to ask specific questions about
the sales cycles so that you can learn about the personality of the client as
well as other project expectations and assumptions.

Presales
The collection of activities before a project is sold is called presales. Presales
start when someone in a sales role, such as an account executive, makes
initial contact with a prospect; this is referred to as an opportunity. The
meetings, phone calls, emails, and milestones are recorded in a customer
relationship database (CRM) Sound familiar? Yes, it is nice when the consulting
firm uses Salesforce as their CRM if you are a Salesforce consultant.

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_6
58 Chapter 6 | Sales and Staffing

The opportunity proceeds through a series of stages that ends once a sale is
won or lost. Other stages may include the following:

• Business development, where the lead or prospect is

determined to be qualified or not
• Initial contact with clients, such as writing proposals and
other initial meetings
• Determining an appropriate approach
• Pitching and demoing the product
• Negotiating and closing the sale
• Post-sale transitional support or sales handoff

During presales, the sales engineer works alongside the account executive to
discover the business need, build demos, and show them to prospects. The
sales engineer is a technical role and creates demo applications. Sometimes
you may hear the phrase “spinning up a new org.” This simply means creating
a new instance of the database to have a starting point. Demos are an
important step in the software industry and information technology services
industries. Since a lot of the work is customized, many customers have specific
and unique requirements and like to see examples of the possibilities. Having
sales engineers involved in the sales process can help the account executive
understand what is realistic in a given time period and what the level of effort
is for something that a client might ask for off the cuff.
Overall, the sales team helps the client make sure they are getting the right
value for the solution presented. Oftentimes the licensing terms for buying
software can be complex. The sales team advises on the different features to
assist the clients in making the right decision. The solution engineer is often
involved in responding to requests for proposals (RFPs) because they have
knowledge of the technical details in RFP preparation. The client authors the
RFP, and the sales team responds with a proposal. The presales group is also
often closely aligned with marketing in producing marketing collateral and
providing feedback on product roadmap items with product management
groups.

Types of Contracts
Generally speaking, there are two types of contracts that are used to sell
Salesforce delivery projects, fixed-price and time and materials (T&M).
Fixed price is riskier to the implementer or consulting firm because all the
work needs to be done within the time and scope defined in the contract for
the price agreed upon. This may seem like a way to make high profits by
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 59

making sure the team is super-efficient and finishes everything early. On the
other hand, if there are changes to the scope or the scope is not well defined,
then the project takes longer to finish, and all the risk is on the project team.1
Managing risk on a fixed-cost project centers around scope management.
One strategy is to include a sales engineer or other technical resource in the
sales process. Sales engineers or delivery technical people should be involved
in writing the contract for a fixed-price contract to make sure the scope is
well defined. Hiring an experienced project manager who knows how to
manage scope changes is also proven risk mitigation for this circumstance. It
is important to set expectations in the beginning of any project, but on a
fixed-price project it is important to communicate that that any changes in
scope will require a discussion and a change order. Any request to change or
add to the scope will need to be analyzed first to determine the impact to the
timeline and resources and budget and communicated back to the client.
Every measurable factor of scope takes on heightened significance in a fixed-
price contract. User stories with measurable acceptance criteria are important
for testing, demos, and user acceptance testing to get to client sign-off.
A T&M contract is less risky to the implementer even if the scope is not well
defined. Under this contract, the client agrees to pay based on time spent
working. A budget ceiling is usually put in the contract, and the client pays up
to that ceiling or maximum price or budget limit. The T&M contract dictates
the terms under which the consulting team or individual on the team is
staffed. For example, Pat is a data analyst consultant who gets staffed on the
Widget Company project for 20 hours a week for a total of 180 hours for the
entire project. This means that Pat is going to work on the project half time,
since 40 hours a week is considered full time. She will most likely split her
time between the Widget Company project and another project.

How to Get Staffed on a Project

After the sales team receives a signed contract back from the client, the
consulting firm starts to pull together the team for the project. You might get
hired by the consulting firm but not get immediately placed on a project.
Usually, there are some temporary staffing decisions made before the final
project team is complete. This is because there is no clear formula to predict
when a contract will be signed or when everyone on both sides will be
available to kick off the project. Some resources may already be staffed on
projects that may be predicted to end at a certain date, but this can change if

1
Lowden, G. & Thornton, J. (2015). The special challenges of project management under
fixed-price contracts. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2015—EMEA, London,
England. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. https://www.pmi.org/
learning/library/challenges-fixed-price-contracts-9640
60 Chapter 6 | Sales and Staffing

there is a change order or other delay. So, the staffing plan starts out as an
estimate of who will be on the project and when, and it is refined as factors
become clearer.

On the Bench

If you are not currently on a project but are an employee of the consulting
firm, then you are considered “on the bench,” which is an idiom for players
who are waiting to play a team sport but seated around the perimeter of the
playing area and are waiting to play. Having a bench costs the consulting firm
overhead, so consultants usually don’t stay on it too long; however, if you find
yourself on the bench, it is often a good time to help with business development
or study for another Salesforce certification. It is common to be on the bench
when you first start with a firm, when you are in between projects, or when
you get kicked off a project, which unfortunately does happen to consultants
from time to time.
It is also good to have an open mind with the projects that you are asked to
join. Each project is a new experience and an opportunity for personal and
professional growth. You really can’t tell what a project is going to be like until
you start it. Projects are what you make them. Your attitude makes a big
difference. Big projects have challenges. Small projects have challenges. Some
clients are easy to get along with. Some clients are not. Even if a client is nice
and easy to get along with does not mean that they make decisions easily or
understand Salesforce, which can be challenging. Learn more about client
management in Chapter 13.

Centralized Staffing Model

A centralized staffing model is one where the consulting firm has a staffing
department that helps plan and coordinate the resources for a project. The
staffing group helps coordinate staffing for the consultant by working with
account executives and delivery leaders to coordinate and plan into the
future. There is a natural tension between the staffing department and the
account leads who all want the best consultants for their projects. Their first
pick may not be available when the projects are sold, because they are staffed
or allocated for other projects. This tension is at the heart of what makes a
delivery organization healthy. If you are good at your job, account executives
and staffing may have a “tug of war” over where to place you. Both want you
in the openings they have, and sometimes the negotiation goes on for a while.
Oftentimes, account executives start planning which resources they prefer
before the opportunity is even won. They do this to secure a consultant that
they have confidence in.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 61

The staffing manager might “pencil in” or tentatively plan the resource that
they would like to have on a project. Sometimes, you might be staffed on a
project, but then it falls through and you wind up on a totally different project.
Sometimes this happens, because predicting the timing of a deal closing can be
difficult. Sometimes the client delays signing the contract for one more round
of review, and sometimes deals close very fast. It is perfectly normal to be
penciled in on a project before the actual staffing plan is solidified. Expect
changes while you wait for things to solidify, and don’t take it personally.

Decentralized Staffing Model

Some companies do not have a staffing group, and it is up to the consultant
to find their next project by working with their manager and networking
within the firm. This happens in both big and small consulting firms. The
decision to have a staffing department or role is a business decision. The
service it provides is an operational cost, and some firms think there is value
in having one, and some do not.
In a decentralized model, consultants tend to stay on projects for longer
periods of time and integrate their activities with the client team more. If the
consultant is the only person from the consulting firm on the project, this can
feel a little like staff augmentation to the consultant, but reputable firms will
be clear about the terms of the arrangement with the consultant. Consultants
who work under a decentralized model may become nervous if their project
ends, and they don’t feel support from the firm to find a new project.
Networking can be hard if you have spent all your time on your project and
not interacting with consultants on other projects.
Having worked under both models, I think consultants are happier working in
the centralized staffing model, because the staffing group works with
consultant managers, and they both can advocate for the consultant. The
staffing manager/consultant manager relationship creates a synergy that aids
in uncovering career growth opportunities such as “stretch” roles that align
with a consultant’s goals and help in promotions. For example, if you have a
goal of becoming a solution architect and have been on several projects as a
business analyst, you might try a stretch role as a solution architect on your
next project. Also, if you are a Salesforce consultant, you probably don’t want
to suddenly be moved to a project that is using a different technology because
of all the time you have invested in learning Salesforce. The centralized staffing
model mitigates this risk and also creates a mechanism that lets consultants
move easier between projects and gain experience faster than staying on one
project for two years.
62 Chapter 6 | Sales and Staffing

How long you stay on a project is a personal preference. If you feel you are
learning useful skills and adding value, then it doesn’t matter if the project is
long. On the other hand, you also learn useful skills and add value by being on
multiple projects that change every three months. Many people don’t like
being on more than one project at a time because context switching can be
difficult to maintain and lead to burnout.
Early in my career, I met a seasoned consultant who told me that he got antsy
after about a year on a project. At the time I thought this sounded like a long
time, but it is really not if you stay in consulting for a long time. No matter
how long the project is, it is always good to take some time to regularly
reflect on your goals. The world changes fast, and reassessing your goals is a
gift to yourself. Check in with your mentor, manager, and the staffing
department on a regular basis and have general conversations about how
things are going. If you work remotely, ask them if they want to do a virtual
coffee break, agree on a time, and send them a calendar invite.

Sales Handoff Meetings

The sales handoff is a meeting that takes place once a project is sold after the
project is staffed. It is the time that the sales executive communicates
pertinent information about the sale with the project team. This activity creates
alignment between the sales and professional services groups. Professional
services groups are also referred to as delivery. They are interchangeable terms
in many organizations. A successful sales handoff creates aligned groups and
makes the client experience better from the start. At its core, it is a
communication exercise, and when it is skipped, it is obvious to the client and
can be embarrassing for the delivery team; in short, it is not a good way for a
project to begin.
Be sure to take some time to orient yourself around the big picture. What is
the project about? What is the main use case or problem the team is trying
to solve? Why are you on the project? If you can’t answer these questions,
then keep asking your project team until you get a sufficient answer. After you
are on a project, you will be expected to know the answers to these questions
sooner than you might expect, so be proactive from the start.
Sometimes sales handoffs occur before the whole team is fully onboarded
onto the project. If you find yourself in this position, then ask if they recorded
the meeting. It is a common practice to record sales handoffs for those who
may join the project later. For example, sometimes certain roles such as
quality assurance engineers or developers start projects after discovery (see
Chapter 7 for more about discovery). If the sales handoff was not recorded,
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 63

then during your onboarding or knowledge transfer meeting ask if there was
a presentation or deck that the account executive can share with you.
Sometimes consultants are thrown into projects with very little information.
Other times too much detailed information is given. One caveat about sales
handoff meetings to note is that in a bigger consulting firm, you may be far
removed from the sales process and may never attend this type of meeting.
Some projects are huge and have complicated contract vehicles, and the
projects go on for years and years, especially if they are government projects.
It is entirely possible that you could be brought into the middle of a project
and read in during a knowledge transfer (KT) session with a member of the
project team. This section covers consulting firms that have regular sales
handoff meetings (or should).

The Sales Handoff Internal Meeting Presentation

The best sales handoffs are the ones where the account executive prepares a
presentation beforehand and gives an overview of the company and summarizes
major events of the sales cycle. Ideally, the account executive will come with
a presentation that covers the following:

• The background of the company

• An overview of what was sold
• The timeline, scope, and budget
• Project assumptions and constraints
• Key client contact information, including titles and roles
on the project
• Client idiosyncrasies
• Technologies

The Background of the Company

What does the company do? What industry does it serve? Is it a public or
private company, or is it a nonprofit or government agency? If the company is
public, then this tells you that there is public information available to read.
Every year public companies are required to report filings called 10ks, which
are annual reports to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). 10ks
detail what the company does and include financial information. They are
located on the SEC’s website called EDGAR. If the company is a nonprofit,
64 Chapter 6 | Sales and Staffing

then the filing to check is the 990, which can be found on Guidestar. Company
websites are the best source for private companies. But Dun and Bradstreet
has limited information on company sales figures. If the project is for the
government, then the government’s website is the best source. Also, USA.gov
has a directory of all the government departments and agencies. If you get
staffed on a government project, it is important to know which of the 15
executive departments that your project sits under.

What Was Sold?

One of the worst outcomes at the beginning of a new project is when the
delivery team is fuzzy on the details of the project and really doesn’t know
what the sales team has sold. When this happens, it becomes very easy to
have client conversations where you sound like you don’t know what is going
on. This can become an embarrassing predicament and create a bad first
impression in front of the client. It also makes it obvious that the consulting
firm is not working together and the departments are not talking to each
other. Needless to say, this is not a good way to kick off a project.
Specific questions to ask around what was sold on a Salesforce projects may
include the following:

• What types of licenses were sold?

• How many users are there?
• How much data is there? Is a data migration needed?
• Is the work going to be done in a new org or an
existing org?
• Was an integration sold?
• How many integrations? What types? Is there any
flexibility?
• Does the client have access to their own data, or
does an outside company manage access?
• If they do not have access, who does, and will they
give the client access within the timeline of the
project?
• Does the third-party company need to join the
project, or will the client serve as the intermediary?
• Is this a dependency on starting the project? (See
Chapter 8 for more on dependencies.)
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 65

The Timeline, Scope, and Budget

The presentation should include a description of the length of the project, the
amount, and the scope. This should also include a description of what is out
of scope. Once the team knows what is out of scope, this information should
be put in the risk log for monitoring throughout the life of the project. The
presentation should also include a description of the roadmap or any future
releases or plans that the account executive has made with the client. Other
common questions include the following:

• Is there another company doing work on this project?

• Are we the primary contractor or the subcontractor?
• The answer to the previous question will tell you about
the management structure of the project and who will be
managing escalations and how many groups there are on
the project.

The SOW
Above all else, make sure to read the statement of work (SOW) and know
the answers to the relevant questions in this chapter. The SOW is the contract
document that has the project information. Two common types were
discussed earlier this chapter, fixed price and T&M. Ideally, the account
executive will share the SOW beforehand, and the team can read through it
and come to the meeting prepared with questions.

What Are the Assumptions?

Assumptions are very useful and clear up confusion right from the start.
Undefined assumptions lead to misaligned expectations like in the tire swing
example from Chapter 4. If assumptions are not defined up front, then
projects can start to falter, and time gets wasted with unnecessary meetings
where people don’t communicate effectively. Writing out assumptions helps
reduce project risk and issues.
An example of an assumption might be if the client would like a complex
integration and need to procure a specific tool for the transformations, then
this is a cost outside of the Salesforce license. The assumption would be that
the client will buy the licenses needed for the tool to perform the integration.
The client might assume that the migration can be done with Salesforce and
they don’t need to purchase anything else.
66 Chapter 6 | Sales and Staffing

Another assumption could be that the delivery team will migrate their data,
but it is up to the client to clean up “dirty data,” meaning incomplete records
and incorrect spellings of words in fields, for example. If a client does not
know how to do this in an efficient way, then this would start a conversation
around how they might approach this problem.

Client Idiosyncrasies
What should the team avoid saying? What shouldn’t you say to the client?
This comes up more times than you would think with seemingly innocent
words. They are usually things that you can’t predict and are situational. For
example, I have been on three separate projects where the account executive
advised us to avoid saying a specific word. There were words that only made
sense in the context of those projects and were good to know ahead of time.
The words? Commercial, wiki, and Agile.

What Is the Dynamic Between Business and IT?

It is also good to ask the account executive if they sold the project to the IT
or business side of the company and what the relationship is like between the
two groups. This is always an interesting dynamic and will tell you a lot about
who is really in charge of the project. The business side makes the strategy for
the company or organization. The IT group supports the business. Salesforce
projects have the best chance at success when these two groups are aligned
and supportive of one another.
Here is an example of what can happen if the two groups are not aligned. The
account executive sells a Salesforce project to the CIO on the IT side of a
company. The stakeholders on the business side might not understand what
IT purchased. The business user might think that they are getting something
different than what the CIO bought. And the reverse can be true, too. The
business can buy the software and then hand it off to the IT team to work
with the Salesforce implementation team. Successful Salesforce projects
usually need input from both the IT and business sides.
Here are some common questions:

• Who bought the project? IT or business?

• What is their involvement and roles on the project?
• Who is in charge? Who is the decision-maker?
• Is there good communication between the two groups?
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 67

Introducing the Project Team to the Client

The account executive sometimes also holds an introductory call with the
delivery team and the client. If the account executive doesn’t do it, then it is
set up by a relationship manager or project manager. Both meetings are
important steps in the handoff between sales and delivery.

Technology
Sometimes a technology meeting is necessary between the project team and
the client before the kickoff. This type of meeting saves time getting everyone
on the project team set up in the client systems if the client technologies are
going to be used in the project. For example, the client will also have to create
Salesforce admin accounts for the project team and sometimes other work
tracking and documentation systems such as Jira and/or SharePoint.

Summary
The two types of contracts typically seen in Salesforce delivery projects are
fixed price and time and materials. Time and materials provides more scope
flexibility and less risk to the project team. There are two types of staffing
models that consulting firms use to place resources on projects. They are
centralized and decentralized models. The sales handoff is an important time
for consultants to gain an understanding of the sales cycle and important facts
such as scope, budget, timeline, assumptions, expectations, client personality,
and other client information. Have a standard list of questions ready to ask
during the sales handoff. If the account executive doesn’t answer them in the
presentation, then make sure you ask.

Resources
Association of Record for Bid, Proposal, Business Development, Capture and
Graphics. Professionals, https://www.apmp.org/
APMP Certification Program, https://apmp.org/page/AccreditationProgram
EDGAR, https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html
Guidestar, https://www.guidestar.org/search
Dun and Bradstreet, https://www.dnb.com/business-­directory.html
USA.gov, https://www.usa.gov/federal-­agencies
 PA R T

III

Stages of a
Project
 CHAPTER

Ramp-Up
In the beginning of a phase of a Salesforce project, there is a lot of preparation
required to get the project off to a good start. Whether you are traveling to
the client site for the first client meeting or working from home, there are
travel resources that help you save time, increase efficiency, and reduce stress.
If you are not traveling, then spending time on properly setting up your
workspace setup is not something to skip. A proper workstation setup can
help avoid potential injury.
Utilization, or the time you are expected to bill on a project, is an important
metric to understand, especially if it is tied to a bonus or if there is a minimum
that must be met.
You also must have a clear idea of the activities and deliverables that are
associated with your role. This reduces team conflict and is an input to
identifying people who can serve as your backup if needed.

Travel
So, you have been staffed on a project, have had the sales handoff meeting,
and now the project manager is telling your team that kickoff will be “on-site.”
This means that the team will meet in person usually at the client offices.
Time to travel!

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_7
72 Chapter 7 | Ramp-Up

How Much Will I Travel?

A lot of new consultants ask about travel when they are interviewing.
Recruiters often want to know how much travel someone is willing to do. It
is a question that comes up often. In my experience, I have found that if the
consulting firm wants you to commit to 80 percent travel, this usually means
traveling every week, Monday through Thursday, and then working from home
on Fridays.
The norm is for clients to pick up the travel expenses for the consultant. In
fact, sometimes projects require that the consultants work from the client’s
office location. When this is the case, consultants will probably work on-site
Monday through Thursday and then travel home on Thursday evening so they
can work from home on Friday. In other circumstances, the client may not
have a big budget for travel, so consultants may travel only for important
events in the project such as kickoff and discovery and do the rest of the
project remotely. Some consulting companies have a workforce that is
completely remote, so teams work remotely even within their own
organizations. They use teleconferences such as Webex, Zoom, or Google
Meet and instant messaging technologies such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, or
Google Hangouts.
If the consulting firm requires a 25 percent commitment to travel, then the
expectations are that you will be traveling on-site for important meetings
such as kickoff and discovery and the rest of the work will be done remotely
or at the local consulting office. The amount of travel required really depends.
In some firms, consultants have to be willing to travel 80 percent of the time
as a prerequisite to getting hired. However, since most of the world had to
suddenly start working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic that started
in 2020, there are more and more remote work arrangements than ever
before.
If you are planning on traveling for your project, knowing how to balance time
is an important strategy to minimize stress. Schedule your transportation via
Lyft or Uber the night before to make sure that there is someone available to
drive you to the airport or train station. Build in time for travel delays. For
example, if the kickoff meeting is the first thing in the morning, then it may
make sense to travel the night before. That way, if there are any travel delays,
you will not have to worry about being late for the morning meeting. If the
kickoff meeting is in the afternoon and your flight is short, figure out if there
is enough time to travel first thing in the morning and still build in time for
potential delays.
Leave yourself ample time to arrive. Some teams coordinate travel logistics
and meet each other at the airport together to save on rental car costs. The
MileIQ app logs miles and can be helpful if you are renting a car and need to
keep track of miles driven. Make sure you know the address of the location
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 73

where the kickoff is located beforehand and how long it takes to get there
from the airport. Meet up with your team before kickoff for last-minute
preparation at the hotel or for breakfast/lunch near the client location before
kickoff and then walk in together.

Airport Hacks
Traveling can be stressful, but if you are well organized and manage your time
efficiently, it also can be a fun time to meet and connect with people in person
and strengthen relationships. There are many airport shortcuts to save time
and minimize stress. From faster check-ins to airport clubs, there are several
ways to make the flight enjoyable. Here are a few tips to save you time and
manage stress at the airport.
CLEAR. This program uses biometrics such as your irises or fingerprints to
prove your identity instead of traditional methods like your passport or
driver’s license. If you have signed up for the CLEAR service beforehand, then
the only thing you have to show to prove your identity at the airport is your
fingerprints or the irises of your eyes. The CLEAR system uses your unique
biometric information and turns it into an encrypted code that is distinctive
to you. When you go to the airport, you have your fingers or eyes scanned by
the CLEAR technology. There should be a CLEAR lane at TSA check-in points.
Then go on to the security check.
TSA PreCheck. This is a program run by the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) and is another time-saving program that you have to
register for beforehand. It is a way to bypass the long security lines by going
through a background check and paying a fee beforehand. If you have TSA
PreCheck, then you don’t have to take off your shoes, belts, or light jackets
when going through security. It makes the process faster and cuts down on
long wait times. It takes a few weeks to get approved, so you should plan this
ahead of time.
Also, TSA has a list of their top travel tips on its website. Since rules change
from time to time, it is good to check this list before your flight. Some of the
more common rules are the liquid rule, which limits liquids to travel-sized
containers that are 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) or less per item. TSA also has
an extensive list of items that you are allowed to bring, which can be handy if
you are wondering about a particular item. It is a pretty long list and has items
from blankets and bread to flowers and hair dryers. All are okay to bring. If
you have to go through the security line, then wear shoes that are easy to
take on and off such as slip-on shoes and socks so you don’t have to walk
barefoot on the airport floor.
74 Chapter 7 | Ramp-Up

Airline Clubs. Airline clubs are special areas set aside for travelers to eat
and relax. They have features such as food and drink, business centers, fast
WiFi connections, showers, and lounges. You can either join an airline club
through the airline directly to get access to their airport lounge or use Lounge
Buddy to search for a club by city or airport and book by the hour through
their website.
Mileage Programs. Join the mileage program for the airline to accumulate
points that can later be used for free travel and upgrades. Hotels such as
Marriott or Hilton also have similar programs that can save money for frequent
travelers.
Items for the plane. Bring your own blanket and noise canceling headphones
and a backup power supply. Download Netflix or Hulu ahead of time to watch
movies. Buy a bottle of water once you get through security for the flight to
prevent dehydration or, better yet, bring an empty water bottle and fill it up
at a water bottle filling station at the gate.
Once you land, FLIO is a useful app to use if you are in an airport that is
unfamiliar to you. This free app will tell you where the ground transportation
is located and any other useful tips to know about the airport. For example,
sometimes there are designated areas for Uber and Lyft rides (rideshares) that
aren’t immediately apparent because they are often located at a different
location than the taxis. FLIO will explain the distinction that a particular
airport makes around this.

Travel Reimbursement
If you don’t have access to the corporate credit card, then then you will
probably pay out of pocket and get reimbursed. The client usually pays for the
travel, but it has to be written in the contract, and every contract is different,
so make sure to talk to your project manager about the specific constraints
around hotel costs and meals.
Usually, the consultant pays for the trip and then submits an expense report
at the end of the trip. Save those receipts. Better yet, take a picture of them
right when you make the purchase. It is easy to lose receipts when you are in
a rush, and the best consultants I know take a picture of their receipt right
when they pay for something. Uber emails you your receipt, which is very
convenient. There are several free receipt apps. Expensify is often
recommended by journalists who write top ten lists on this topic. The service
costs $5 per month or is free with a limit of 10 receipts per month.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 75

Sometimes the project has a per diem, which is a set maximum amount for
food, lodging, and incidentals that a client will reimburse a consultant without
having to produce a receipt. Make sure you talk to your project manager and
you are clear on the travel reimbursement arrangements because these
arrangements can and often do change from project to project.

Working from Home

More and more people are working remotely. This provides a lot of flexibility
for a better work-life balance. But it is still important to set up a healthy,
ergonomic workspace at home.
First, make sure you have a comfortable place to work but not too comfortable,
like not the couch. Some days it may seem like a more comfortable option to
work from your couch or bed because you are tired, but it’s really not a good
idea. Please don’t work from your bed. Along with the ergonomic problems,
it sets up a whole lot of other potential issues like not paying attention, falling
asleep, or getting the conferencing software settings wrong and inadvertently
turning your camera on, allowing people to see you lying in your bed.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen this happen, and it’s embarrassing for everyone.
Once you work from home for a while, it can be easy to forget the correct
angles for your arms and eyes to the keyboard and monitor. Take a look at
Figure 7-1 and make sure that the angles line up correctly. Is your keyboard
low enough, or are you reaching up too far? Is your neck bent down? When
you don’t have an ergonomic setup, most people end up sitting rounded over.
Don’t hunch over your desk. This is called text neck. It is when you bend your
chin down to look at your phone or computer. This seemingly small movement
puts a great deal of weight on your neck and upper back muscles. Over time
it can lead to health problems. Offices usually spend a great deal of time and
effort to make workstations ergonomic for their workers. This may not have
been something that you have considered for your home office. But it is
worth thinking through and asking your employer for help with the
correct setup.
76 Chapter 7 | Ramp-Up

Figure 7-1. Example of ergonomic body angles while seated at a desk (Source: Wikimedia
Commons)

Also, a lot of people get standing desks so they aren’t sitting all the time. But,
even with standing desks, you have to make sure that the angles are right so
that you are not putting too much pressure on your neck. The key is to make
sure to move around often. Walk around. Don’t stand or sit in one position
for too long. Changing position frequently gives one area of your body a break
while another takes over for a while. Pomodoro timers are good to use to
remind yourself to take short breaks.
Setting up two monitors also makes working easier. A laptop along with a
second monitor will allow you to glance back and forth between screens. This
makes working easier, because it cuts down on the opening and closing of
browser windows. If you have two monitors, look into the monitor with the
camera during a conference call. Put the meeting window on the monitor
with the camera so it doesn’t look like you are looking away from people
when you speak.
Make sure your workstation is well lit. Place a light on your desk and have it
illuminate your screen. Don’t place it behind you, or it will make you look like
a silhouette. Figure 7-2 is an example of a light source coming from behind
people. The light is the furthest thing from the camera. It casts a dark outline
on the people. This is not what you want. In Figure 7-3, the light is on the
women’s faces. The source of the light is behind the camera, and it is lighting
the faces of the women.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 77

Figure 7-2. Example of a silhouette. The light source is in front of the camera

Figure 7-3. Example of lighting coming from behind the camera

Take some time to assess what is behind you. Is it tidy, and is not unnecessarily
distracting? That’s your goal. You don’t have to sit in front of a completely
white wall; just make sure your background is uncluttered and calm so the
focus is on you.
Another option is to use the background feature in a conference application
such as Zoom to project a background image behind you. This completely
blocks out everything behind you. For example, you can pick a picture of the
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco as your background. I was recently on a
project team where everyone on the team used these backgrounds, so I
decided to try it. I had tried this feature before but wasn’t a fan because I
found that the edges of my head seemed cut off. I mentioned this to my
teammates who told me that simply placing green posterboard behind you
will stop this effect. As you may already know, this is called a green screen and
is used in film production and is basically used to drop things into the
background. It doesn’t have to be green, but green is often used because it
doesn’t conflict with skin color. If you use Zoom, there is a setting to turn on
78 Chapter 7 | Ramp-Up

that will create the right effect, but you need the actual green screen behind
you for it to work. And it really can be as simple as buying a piece of cardboard
like the one in Figure 7-4 from a craft store. I have also listed a link to a
portable one from Amazon that attaches to the back of your chair in the
“Resources” section at the end of this chapter.

Figure 7-4. A do-it-yourself green screen can be made with green cardboard found at a
craft store

If your meeting is remote, then unmute yourself and turn on your camera
video when introducing yourself. Then mute your audio again so background
noise does not distract the other people on the call. It might sound obvious,
but people like to see other people, so it is more engaging and will help you
build a better interpersonal connection if you turn on your camera. If you
have to leave during a call but don’t want to interrupt the speaker, then write
a note in the chat that says “be right back,” and when you return, write “back”
so that everyone knows you have returned. Also, if you have to leave a call
early or one that is running over, then write a note in the chat before you
drop so that the participants know you have left the call. You can simply write,
“I have to drop for another call” or “I have a hard stop and have to drop.
Thanks.”

Utilization
Once you get staffed on a project, you may start tracking your utilization,
especially if the firm you are working for has utilization goals. Utilization is a
measure of the amount of work that you contribute to the consulting firm.
Consulting firms use this to measure your value to the firm or, in other words,
how much money you are making them. It is calculated by your billable hours
projects divided by the number of working hours in a week, which is usually
40 hours. So if you work 40 billable hours in a week, your utilization is 100
percent. If you work less than 40 hours in the week, then your utilization goes
down. If you work overtime, then your utilization goes up and can go over
100 percent.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 79

The utilization calculation is spread across the year and excludes holidays and
vacations. If you work at a place with unlimited PTO and the firm gives out
utilization bonuses based on targets, then you will want to make sure that you
ask the total number of billable hours the firm is using for the year and plan
accordingly. Some consulting firms have targets or a minimum utilization
percentage that you have to reach in order to get a bonus at the end of the
year. Other firms pay higher bonuses for exceeding targets such as working
more than 40 hours a week. Every firm is different. Keep in mind that time
spent on the bench will lower your utilization since you are not doing billable
work. Conversely, some firms do not have utilization targets or bonuses at all.
A common question that consultants debate often is if it is ethical to bill a
client for time that you are not in front of your computer but thinking about
solutions to help them solve their problems. One way to think through this
conundrum is to ask yourself if you were hired to think. A lot of IT work is
problem solving. If you take a walk and your mind is still working on solving
the problem and helps you make progress toward solving it, then I would
consider that billable work. If, on the other hand, you are driving your kids
around and thinking about all the things on your to-do list, some of which
include tasks you need to get completed for work, then I would not consider
this billable work. But there are nuances to this, and it can be endlessly
debated.

Know Your Role

Your project team will come together soon after the sales handoff to talk
about the project plan. The project manager or lead will schedule this first
team meeting. It is common for a new team to experience natural
disorganization and confusion when it comes together for the first time.1 To
help mitigate this risk, the project manager will preemptively create organized
structures for easy communication and documentation such as team rosters,
agendas, communication plans, access to work ticketing and instant messaging
tools, as well as other plans to help the team assimilate and mitigate
uncertainties and inefficiencies.
One important task to set up a project team for success is to communicate
the roles assigned. These are usually listed in the statement of work. Even
more important is for each person on the team to know from the start which
person is filling each particular role. Most importantly, and I cannot stress this
enough, it is important that every team member knows which activities are
assigned to which roles. If you do not know who is responsible for a specific

1
RACI, Paladino, Darren, Project Management Institute, Retrieved 5/15/2021, https://
www.projectmanagement.com/contentPages/wiki.cfm?ID=234008&thisPageURL=/
wikis/234008/RACI#1
80 Chapter 7 | Ramp-Up

activity, it is important to ask. You may have identified a gap that was
overlooked and needs discussion. Don’t assume that someone else knows
and wait. Proactive action in consulting makes life easier in the long run.
Some project managers create clarity in this area by creating activity charts. A
team can split up activities in many ways. The best teams set clear responsibilities
but also talk about who can back up another team member if they are in a
pinch. This gives teams flexibility.
For example, in this use case, Main Street Bank is setting up a Financial Services
Cloud org. An org is a term used in the Salesforce ecosystem. It simply means
an instance of the platform that you can log in to. Main Street Bank bought
Financial Services Cloud licenses. When a user logs into an org, they can see the
preconfigured set of objects and relationships associated with the licenses
that they purchased. The objects are represented as horizontal tabs across the
top of the screen. This gives them access to make applications tailored to
their use case. The distinctions in the types of licenses are outside the scope
of this book. But the general common knowledge is that Salesforce has many
types of license types. Many end with the name cloud. Examples include Sales
Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Experience Cloud, etc., and others
have unique names such Knowledge, Shield, or CPQ. The licenses can be
mixed and matched depending on the type of functionality needed. Then
users have access to a specific configuration of objects and relationships and/
or functionality for common use cases in particular industries.
So, in this example, Main Street Bank bought the Financial Services Cloud
licenses because it wants to connect or integrate their customer bank account
information into Salesforce. An integration allows data to be passed from one
database to another database. This is an overly simplified definition. In fact,
there are a lot of rules and specifications that go into this. If you are interested
in learning more about Salesforce integrations, then I highly recommend
reading David Masri’s Developing Data Migrations and Integrations with Salesforce.
As the team gets organized to start working on the project, the project
manager may make a chart similar to the one in Figure 7-5, which lists all the
major activities and the role that is responsible for performing the work. The
chart also lists the name of the person who is assigned to the role. By assigning
activities to roles, it becomes seamless for a person filling a role to read all the
activities for which the role is responsible.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 81

Figure 7-5. Major activities and the roles responsible for the work

Activities assigned to roles can change and often do change from project to
project. You may even have more than one role on a project. This project has
five project team members: a project manager, business analyst, data architect,
solution architect, and developer. In this example, notice how the business
analyst is the role who writes the test scripts. This is because there is no
dedicated quality assurance engineer on the project. On smaller projects, the
budget is not large enough to hire all the roles in a theoretically ideal scenario.
In reality, members of the team will have to become skilled in many areas, not
just the ones that they may consider their specialty. This makes them well-
rounded and high-value consultants in the long run. Even if you do projects
with the same general use case, teams are always different, as unique as people
and their skills. You can do the same role from project to project as a
consultant, but that doesn’t mean you will necessarily do the same activities
each time.
Figure 7-6 has an activity list for the same use case with different roles assigned
to the project. The activities are the same, but they are assigned to different
roles. This project team is smaller with only four project team members: a
solution architect, business analyst, technical architect, and quality assurance
engineer. In this project, the quality assurance engineer writes the test scripts
82 Chapter 7 | Ramp-Up

as one would expect instead of the business analysts like in the previous
example. But note how the technical architect migrates the data since there
is not a dedicated data architect role as in the previous example.

Figure 7-6. Major activities assigned to different roles responsible for the work

Sometimes projects need a more detailed level of expectation setting and

alignment with the client, especially if the team is part of a larger team with
different workstreams running in parallel. For example, there could be a
separate data team running their own sprints in parallel to a development
team. Whatever the scenario, the project manager will make a determination
if more clarity is needed for the team, and if so, they may create an advanced
chart of project responsibilities called a RACI chart. RACI stands for
Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed and can be a useful tool
if the team needs detailed clarity on not only who is responsible for doing the
work as in the previous two examples but also who is ultimately responsible
for task and who just needs to be consulted perhaps for validating a solution
and who just needs to be kept informed. See Figure 7-7 for an example of a
RACI chart for this project.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 83

Figure 7-7. RACI chart

Summary
The amount of travel that is required by the consultant depends on the
project and what the client wants. Be sure to ask specific questions on travel
requirements before you start a project. There are more and more remote
Salesforce projects than ever before. If you work from home, take some time
to set up an ergonomic workstation to avoid injury and take breaks that
involve moving away from your computer.
No matter, your work location, the number of hours that you are allocated
to a project can affect your utilization score and bonus, so keep an eye on this
and make sure the goals set by management are realistic.
Finally, know your role and the activities associated with it, and make sure
your teammates know theirs as well.
84 Chapter 7 | Ramp-Up

Resources
Ground transportation apps, available either from Google Play for a phone
with the Android operating system or from the App Store for an iPhone

Lyft, a modern day taxi that matches riders with divers

using an on demand service model, https://www.
lyft.com/
Uber, competitor to Lyft, https://www.uber.com/
MileIQ app, logs rental car miles, https://www.
mileiq.com/

CLEAR registration, https://www.clearme.com/

TSA, top travel tips, https://www.tsa.gov/travel/travel-­tips
TSA, What Can I Bring, https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-­screening/
whatcanibring/all
Lounge Buddy, https://www.loungebuddy.com/
FLIO, free directories and layout maps for airports, https://www.flio.com/
Expensify, receipt tracking, https://bit.ly/3BXeMia
Portable Yacikos BackUp Power Supply, for a smartphone https://amzn.
to/2V3mnLH
Tomato Timer, used for taking short breaks using the Pomodoro Technique
https://tomato-­timer.com/
 CHAPTER

Kickoff and
Discovery
The kickoff meeting is one of the most important meetings on a project. It is
the time that the team makes the all-important first impression and talks to
the client about their goals for the project. The project methodology is also
taught to the client.
During discovery the project team conducts business analysis using a variety
of techniques to gain an understanding of the current and future processes.
Project members write users stories to prepare for the build phase.
Also during this stage of a project, the team will start to go through the stages
of team cohesion which include forming, storming, norming, performing, and
adjourning.

What Is Kickoff?
Kickoff marks the official, formal start of a project and is the first meeting in
a series of discovery meetings at the beginning of a project. Kickoff and
discovery are usually a combined event with meetings spread over several
days. This first meeting in the series, called the kickoff meeting, is a meeting
where the client and the delivery team meet to “kick off” the project. This
term is derived football where the player kicks the ball at the beginning of the

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_8
86 Chapter 8 | Kickoff and Discovery

game. Kickoffs are usually held in person at the client’s office, but they can
also be held remotely for smaller projects, when the client does not have the
budget or see the need to pay for the consultants to travel to their offices, or
when there is a pandemic.
During kickoff and discovery, you will learn about the client’s business needs.
It is a time where you get to know the client and start to establish a relationship
ideally as a long-term trusted adviser. The client has to give up some control
in order to give you their trust. Like any relationship, this will take time, but
this is a great time to start establishing your credibility. If you go in with the
intention to deliver a solution and/or advice in line with the client’s best
interest and you communicate this from the start, then you are off to a good
start toward building trust. Over time, your advice will become more and
more valued.
Executive sponsorship is vital to project success, so their attendance at these
meetings is important. These are often the people with decision-making
authority on the project. Sometimes they are the people who sign the SOWs.
Schedule regular meetings with sponsors throughout the project as well to
keep them informed and to raise important issues.
Kickoffs are also a good time to confirm everything that you heard in the sales
handoff meeting to make sure you are aligned. Don’t be surprised if
expectations need to be reset. Make sure to go over the goals of the project
and the measures of success.

Interpersonal Tips
There are some basic interpersonal do’s and don’ts to remember during client
kickoffs. A commonsense one is to dress appropriately. If you are traveling in
person, then ask about the dress code of the client office ahead of time and
then try to dress a little nicer.
Less intuitive tips include not getting too familiar too fast, which means don’t
get too personal with clients too quickly. You might be friendly, but be careful
of sharing too much information about yourself right off the bat during. Don’t
be in a rush. Relationships take time to build and usually start out with a lot
of listening, which helps you tune into the personality of the other person.
Understanding how to read the social cues of other people goes a long way
toward developing emotional intelligence and can save you from a lot of
uncomfortable situations.
You want to become a trusted adviser, but kickoff might not be the best time
to tell everyone about your funniest and most embarrassing moment in life.
Sometimes there is an ice-breaker exercise where everyone shares something
interesting about themselves. Read the room and consider the audience if this
comes up. If your client is a toy company, then sharing your favorite toy as a
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 87

kid may be appropriate, especially if that company made it, but if your client is
more serious, then sharing something less personal might be better for a first
introduction.
Another tip is to refrain from introducing yourself to your teammates in front
of the client. This diminishes the appearance of strong team cohesion and
gives the client the impression that the team is weak because the team
members don’t know each other. This is a legitimate concern on its own, but
the nature of the work and methodology requires the team to get to know
each other quickly, and each member is chosen for their skills. In fact, most
teams go through the team cohesion process of forming, storming, norming,
and performing, which I explain in more detail later in this chapter under
“Team Cohesion.” These introductions happen more times than you might
think, so it is something to be aware of. If you get caught off-guard, then you
can say “Nice to see you again” or “Nice to see you in person.” More often
than not, you will have had some type of interaction with your teammates
before kickoff.
If the project is in another country, then research the business etiquette and
cultural norms in that country to avoid any blunders or unintended slights.
See Chapter 10 for more on communicating in different cultural contexts.

Understand Client Vision and Use Cases

The client’s vision for a project is the overarching picture that they are trying
to achieve. It is often tied to their strategic plan and has measurable goals. For
example, a Salesforce consultant usually works on digital modernization goals.
A use case is a scenario that defines the way that a user wants to interact or
“use” a software system. Use cases are often written out as user stories with
acceptance criteria. (See “Writing User Stories” later in this chapter.)
By kickoff, you should be familiar with the use case from the sales handoff,
from reading the SOW, and from general discussion and knowledge transfer
with your team. Kickoff and discovery is a time to listen to the client talk
about their vision and use cases from their point of view in full detail. Usually
the consulting team prepares a presentation for the kickoff meeting that
includes high-level information such as team member names, timeline, roles,
and the purpose of the project, as well as the client vision, goals, and success
metrics. Success metrics are measurable outcomes and can also be referred
to as key performance indicators (KPIs). Salesforce is a tool that can be used
to help reach these goals. It is important to remember and remind the client
if necessary that Salesforce is a tool and not a strategy. It is a configurable
platform that can help you reach and measure goals.
88 Chapter 8 | Kickoff and Discovery

For example, Main Street Bank has a digital modernization vision with the goal
to allow users to see aggregated data from all their bank branches in real time.
Some of their measurable goals may include the following:

• What is the total value of deposits from all branches?

• How many accounts have been opened today, and who
opened them?
• What is the total number of accounts?

The solution architect will design a solution that will have the answer to these
questions built into the system and accessible via reports or dashboards.

Project Methodology
Kickoff and discovery should have a project methodology session. This session
is an overview of how the client and project teams will come together to
work on the project. Every firm has its own unique method for delivering
projects. A lot of firms use a combination of Waterfall and Agile methodologies.
They gather all the requirements up front like in Waterfall and may help the
client with prioritizing the user stories. Others write the business requirements
but ask the client to write the acceptance criteria, which is the second half of
a user story.
Sometimes consulting firms name their methodologies, so the session title
may reflect this and may say, Connor’s Consulting Semi-Agile Methodology,
The Ella Way: Agile 101, or something similar. These types of sessions, usually
led by the project manager or team lead, are intended to inform the client
team about how the project will be structured day by day. There is a lot of
uncertainty in the beginning of a project, and these sessions help set
expectations with the client ahead of time. Business stakeholders usually do
not spend their day to day working on IT delivery projects and may not
understand the time commitment that is expected from them. Also, they may
not understand the types of meetings that the Salesforce project team needs
to have with them.
In the next few chapters, I will walk you through the parts of a semi-agile
methodology project, from gathering requirements to business analysis and
writing user stories and process flows in discovery to setting up an Agile
backlog. These are all fundamental steps in the lifecycle of a Salesforce project.
I am going to explain concepts in Scrum, which is a popular Agile-specific
methodology. In Chapter 9, I will explain the ceremonies during the
development process, and in Chapter 10, I explain user acceptance testing
and deploying the app. All these sections are part of a delivery methodology
and something that should be presented and explained to a client during
kickoff.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 89

What Is Discovery?
Discovery is a phase at the beginning of the project. The goal of discovery
meetings is to understand the client’s current business processes and
procedures. Discovery is usually combined with the kickoff meeting and is the
beginning phase in a project where information is gathered from the client
through interviews, discussions, documentation, and demonstrations of
existing technology. As a Salesforce consultant participating in discovery, it is
important to be curious. You are there to discover.
There are usually a series of discovery meetings on data or technologies
depending on the scope of the project with a full agenda spanning several days
or weeks with a variety of the activities and meetings specific to that project.
But at a high level, the team learns definitions of business terms important to
the business as well as processes, roles, data, and procedures.
In some circumstances, the consulting firm may sell the discovery phase of a
project as a stand-alone project. This is sometimes done if the scope is large,
and it may take a few months to gather all the information needed. The
deliverable or work product for this type of project is a plan forward, such as
a roadmap that may detail releases out in years. Roadmap projects are projects
to plan releases across projects. How to build a roadmap is outside the scope
of this book, but if you are interested in more details, then see “How to Build
a Roadmap” in “Resources” at the end of this chapter. There also may be a
deliverable of a solution design plan, which lays out the technical design plan
around the data model and processes.
For a small, traditional delivery project, a common cadence is for a team to
spend two weeks gathering requirements during the discovery phase and then
have three two-week sprints, followed by a month of training, UAT, and
deployment. (See Figure 8-1.)
90 Chapter 8 | Kickoff and Discovery

Discovery Sprinting UAT/Training Deployment

Figure 8-1. A common cadence is for a team to spend two weeks gathering requirements
during the discovery phase and then three two-week sprints, followed by a month of training,
UAT, and deployment

Different roles may lead the discovery session depending on the content.
Usually the business analyst leads it to figure out the existing and future
processes, but sometimes the solution architect leads discovery depending on
the makeup of the team. Sometimes the technical architect will lead a
technology session to discuss the technologies in the company and the
architecture plan. The project manager may keep the team on track if one
person goes into a lengthy detailed explanation that causes information
overload. While discussing details, it is important to monitor the group for
tangents and “rabbit holes” with excessive details that can throw the team
off-course and waste valuable time. Sometimes it makes more sense to
schedule follow-up meetings to “dive deeper” into specific topics. Other
times, higher-level decisions are made, and the deep-dive meetings are not
needed at all because they are no longer relevant.
Validate who the note-taker is before each session begins. All notes should
have a section for action items, which is anything that needs to be followed up
on later. Record the meetings if you think they may be helpful in the future.
You may not want to go back and listen to three days of recordings, so try to
create important recordings and not add to the amount of information to
review if it is not needed.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 91

Business Analysis
Business analysis is the process of observing, documenting, planning and
analyzing the processes and business rules in a company. During discovery, a
business analyst will utilize several methods to collect this information. To be
good at this skill, you should be curious, observative, and analytical. If you
approach discovery as a challenge that will have a positive outcome, then you
will be guided by optimism, which is an important component of resilience
and will help you keep pushing forward in spite of difficulties. See Chapter 11
for more on resilience.

Current State and Future State

There are many methods available to capture business processes. One
common technique is to document the current business process or “current
state’’ in order to understand the baseline or starting point from which
changes to a system will be made. This is done by interviewing key stakeholders
and asking them to explain their current challenges. Other techniques include
asking stakeholders to conduct demonstrations of the current system and to
have round-table discussions and using a white board to capture key points.
During this type of session, it is a good time to ask the client what they do
and do not like about the current process and system. This is important
information and key to building a useful solution. Not only does it help bring
clarity to the current state, but it will also help to start to shape a future state.
The business analyst will make a decision to focus on one process, system, or
type of user also called a persona. For example, a customer service rep may
give a demo of their current database and give a walk-through of their current
help-desk process. The customer service rep is a persona in this example.
Projects may have one persona or many personas. The more personas in a
process, the more complicated the processes are because each persona goes
through the process with rules assigned to their individual persona. One
common example of this is the ability to create, read, edit, or delete (CRED)
data. These rules may be different for each persona. Learn more about CRED
in Chapter 9.
Some clients will have tons of documentation and may have even written up
their own requirements, while others won’t have one single thing. For example,
I once spent the summer on a project in a business analyst role where my sole
task was to help the client review and rewrite 300 user stories that had been
rewritten 3 times in previous years. It took the whole summer because there
was a committee of people wordsmithing the requirements. That was the
project where I learned that using the word “select” was a better word choice
in a requirement than “click” because “click” assumes a mouse click while
“select” does not. The intention was to try not to include design in the
requirement, and a mouse click was considered design.
92 Chapter 8 | Kickoff and Discovery

You may find that the stakeholders are from many different departments and
do not work with each other too often and have never sat down in a room
together to discuss their processes. Departments may have their own
disparate siloed processes and databases and data that is not easily shared
between departments. Maybe one department emails a report to another
department on a regular basis because they do not share a database. There
may be good reasons for this, or it may be something that just grew organically
without a bigger plan to include other departments. As a Salesforce consultant,
it is your job to ask these questions and to dig into the reasons why the
current state is set up the way it is. You have to be ready for anything.
Conversely, you may discover that the team you are working with is a high-
performance team and very technical and you are there to help them create
something cutting-edge and highly automated. Your job will be to teach them
the Crawl, Walk, Run approach and advise them on the pros and cons that
come with a high level of automation.

Process Flows
Business analysts often document their work using the Unified Modeling
Language (UML), which is a standard notation for modeling software diagrams.
Popular tools used to model diagrams include Visio, Lucid Charts, diagrams.
net/draw.io, and others. One of the models seen often in Salesforce projects
is called the process f low. The process f low documents a business process in
detail. It can include swim lanes for the persona, squares for the process step,
and diamonds for decision points. Figure 8-2 shows a simple customer service
process with two personas, the customer, and the customer service
representative. It details the process that starts with the following:

1. A customer submits an email request.

2. The customer service representative reviews the
application/request and decides if the application meets
the criteria needed.
3. If the application is not complete and does not meet the
proper criteria, the process begins again with the
customer having to correct the information and submit
another email request. The details of how “criteria” is
defined is on the data level and is not documented in a
process flow. Instead, it is written in the user story.
4. If the application does meet the criteria needed, the
customer service representative sends an email to the
customer and changes the status of the case. Of course,
most processes are more complicated than this one, but
this example has some of the most basic elements.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 93

Figure 8-2. Customer service process

Writing User Stories

In a project operating under the Waterfall methodology, requirements are
written during discovery. Requirements list the functionality that the system
should have. This is not the preferred method on an Agile project, where user
stories are written instead of requirements. User stories are behavior-based,
written from the point of view of archetypes such as a role in a company, or
persona. They have two parts, the scenario and the acceptance criteria. A
user story is written from the perspective of the person performing the
process and in a style that separates behavior from the tool, technology, or
solution. This is so the best solution can be chosen after the story is written.
For example, even using the word “click” instead of “select” may imply a
solution because it is possible to pick an option without clicking with a mouse.
In addition, Waterfall requirements are not behavior based. They are a list of
functional aspects of a system.
A common syntax for a user story is as follows: “As a” (person), “I want” (to
do something) “so that” (the reason). Here is an example of a user story
written from the point of view of a customer service agent:

As a customer service representative, I want to record a customer

interaction so that I can see it keep track of the issue until it is resolved.

In this example, the persona of a customer service representative is describing

a business process of saving information from a customer and tracking it
through different stages of a process. Notice how this user story does not
describe a technology. In fact, if you think about it, there are a lot of solutions
that could be used to solve this problem. The customer service representative
94 Chapter 8 | Kickoff and Discovery

could use a notepad on her desk and move the paper to a different stack to
track it through the process. Of course, this is old fashioned, and we know
the client wants to use Salesforce to solve her problem because she bought
the licenses and here we are in a discovery session. But writing this way
eliminates solutioning before it is time (see “Solutioning” in Chapter 9). Since
the business process is distilled down to the who, what, and why, it creates
flexibility and creativity for a solution architect to choose the best solution
based on the constraints of the project. A solution architect will look at many
user stories to determine the best solution for the project as a whole. And
the Salesforce platform provides the architect with an array of “levers to pull”
to craft a specific solution.

Acceptance Criteria
The second part of a user story is called the acceptance criteria. The acceptance
criteria are testable scenarios that the solution must perform. Testable means
that a person can test the scenario to see if it passes or not. The acceptance
criteria is used by the QA engineer to write their test scripts and create
traceability throughout the project.
When acceptance criteria are written using a special syntax called Gherkin,
then the QA engineer can use this format to easily write their test scripts in
a language called cucumber.io, which is used for automated test scripts.
Automated testing is sometimes used on large projects. Instead of a user
testing the functionality, a program runs through the scenario automatically
and reports on if the script passed the test and is working as intended.
But even if you are not working on a project that has automated testing,
Gherkin syntax is still a great format to use for acceptance criteria, because it
helps the writer write a well-defined script that eliminates ambiguity. Gherkin
is easy to write because it uses plain language. The statements are written
using the template Given/When/Then. The statements can be strung together
using AND to keep similar ideas together instead of creating a whole new
story. Using the earlier example, the acceptance criteria could be written out
like this:

Scenario: As a customer service representative, I want to record a

customer interaction so that I can see it keep track of the issue until it
is resolved.

Given I am interacting with a customer when I select an option to write

and save my conversation, then my conversation will be there for
future calls.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 95

AND I can change the status of the record to either New, In Progress,
Deferred, or Complete.

AND the date of the conversation will be saved.

Notice how this is testable. After this is built, someone can log in to the
system as this persona and test that they can write a conversation, change the
status, save it, and verify that the date is there. User stories are critical to help
with planning and estimating the level of effort needed to complete a piece of
functionality.

Team Cohesion
Before we move on to the development stage of a project, I think this is a
good point to talk about team cohesion. Teams go through a predictable set
of five stages of group development called the Tuckman model, named after
Bruce Tuckman, an American psychological researcher who published the
theory in 1965.1 The five stages are forming, storming, norming, performing,
and adjourning. Teams go through these stages at different rates.
By discovery, your team will have gone through the forming stage, which
occurs when the team first comes together and is not yet working as a team.
Introductions are made, and team members usually act polite to one another.
People aren’t quite sure what is going to happen on the project. People might
be curious, confused, or anxious. The team will start testing the dependability
of the leader in the group. The project manager plays a big role in this part of
a project by being prepared, setting expectations, and making sure that
everyone is aware of who is doing what on the project.
After forming comes storming. Don’t be surprised if you start to feel the
storming stage after discovery if not before. The storming stage is when team
members naturally express their individuality and resist the formation of
group structure. People start pushing against boundaries set by teammates.
During storming your self-awareness is important. Nobody is going to tell you
that storming has started. It is important to notice and identify it for what it
is so that you can do something about it.
You will likely notice it if you pay attention. There could be interpersonal
issues that arise between members of the team that cause division in the
group. People may start stating their opinions, and this can cause agitation and

1
Tuckman, W, Bruce, Psychological Bulletin, 1965, Vol 63, No. 6, pp 384–399, Retrieved
5/15/2021 https://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/15341_Readings/Group_
Dynamics/Tuckman_1965_Developmental_sequence_in_small_groups.pdf
96 Chapter 8 | Kickoff and Discovery

conflicts to arise. There will be infighting and a lack of unity.2 Or it can cause
some people to shirk and let the stronger personality dominate. Some teams
go through this phase slowly, and some go through it fast. Some teams never
get past this stage, which makes for a stressful project. Some teams may think
that they can avoid this phase, but it is best to acknowledge that this a natural
step in forming a high-functioning team, and it is best to address any conflicts
in the short term rather than letting them fester by ignoring them. See
Chapter 10 for more tips on teamwork and how to get through this stage.
After the “storms” are over, the norming stage starts, where the team is in
harmony. The project feels peaceful, and people start to really work together.
The team togetherness and cohesion can be felt. On Salesforce Agile projects,
I have found it is quite common for teams to experience norming during
sprinting if not before. Sprinting has built-in ceremonies that establish norms.
See Chapter 9 for more on sprinting.
Performing is when the team is working together as a unit with shared goals.
They have put differences aside and are producing results. In my experience,
working with a team that has achieved performance is exhilarating. Team
members have a sense of accomplishment and togetherness that is a wonderful
thing to be part of.
The fifth stage, adjourning, was added to Tuckman’s model 12 years after the
first four. Adjourning is a sad stage because it signifies the dissolution of the
team where team members experience a sense of loss from after having
established significant bonds with teammates.

Summary
Kickoff is the first meeting with a client during the discovery phase of a
project. During this stage, the project team performs business analysis and
examines the client’s current and future business processes. Come to
discovery with a curious mind so that you are open to learning new things. A
member of the project team, usually the business analyst, will create process
flows and well-formed user stories as project outputs or deliverables. The
team will also begin the journey through the stages of group development,
which include, forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Pay
attention to the stage that your team is in so you can react accordingly.

2
Tuckerman, https://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/15341_Readings/
Group_Dynamics/Tuckman_1965_Developmental_sequence_in_small_groups.pdf
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 97

Resources
How to Build a Roadmap, https://architect.salesforce.com/roadmap/
roadmap-­templates/how-­to-­roadmap/
The Unified Modeling Language User Guide (2 ed.). Addison-Wesley. 2005. ISBN
0321267974
Gherkin syntax, https://cucumber.io/docs/gherkin/reference/
Mountain Goat Software, examples of how to write user stories and the
general information on Agile, https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/
 CHAPTER

Build, Test,
Deploy
The development or build, test, and deploy phases of a project are the parts
of the project that contain several Agile ceremonies. Each ceremony
contributes to the project structure and has purposes that if followed will
help teams have a more successful project. The ceremonies include backlog
refinement, sprint planning, and daily stand-ups and reviews.
The definition of ready and the definition of done are structured exercises
that help align the team and create more efficiencies in work completion.
Work cannot begin without a design. Overstating how important design is to
project success is unlikely, so feel free to keep the solution design at the
forefront of your mind when building an application and talk about it frequently
so that the team is aligned and understands the big picture. The solution
architect plays a critical role in making sure that the design for each user story
fits into the overall solution design.
User acceptance testing is a time in the project when the end users test the
system. It is important to conduct well-organized sessions with test scripts
and to communicate expectations to end users. Scope creep is a risk during
user acceptance testing but can be mitigated using traceability back to user
stories and parsing through user feedback to determine if they may need
training on a certain feature.
Deployment is the end of a project when the application is moved to a
production environment where end users interact with the system.
© Heather Negley 2022
H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_9
100 Chapter 9 | Build, Test, Deploy

Agile Meetings
The official Agile ceremonies or Scrum events are sprint planning, daily scrum,
sprint review, and sprint retrospective.1 Backlog refinement is not an official
Scrum ceremony, but it is a practice that works well with Scrum. It used to be
called backlog grooming prior to 2013. Each Agile ceremony has its own
meeting cadence.

Backlog Refinement
Once all the user stories are written, they are compiled into a list called a
backlog. Backlog refinement is a prioritizing activity that goes hand in hand
with the design of the application. The product owner is responsible for
prioritizing the backlog. This means the product owner chooses which
features will be built first. When the client is the product owner, then
consultants can advise them with this prioritizing activity to help choose
dependencies first and make suggestions based on their past experiences.
Backlog refinement takes place throughout the project whenever there is a
need to get more stories ready. Some teams have backlog refinement as often
as twice a week during the build phase.
Each story is assigned an epic, which is a way to categorize the features.
Sometimes epics are viewed as one large story that has been broken down
into separate stories. In practicality, epics are useful because they help the
team organize the stories, which is useful in prioritizing work.

Definition of Ready
Once all the stories are prioritized, they are ready and are pulled into sprints.
But are they really ready? How does a team know? Creating a definition of
ready helps; this is a list of rules that a story must meet in order for it to be
considered for a sprint, and it helps eliminate ambiguity. How do you know
what rules go into this? The team decides. The project team creates the
definition of ready. You start by having a definition of ready meeting. Each
project creates different rules, but the following are some common rules to
consider:

• Stories must have acceptance criteria.

• Stories larger than 21 points must be split before they are
brought in.

1
The Four Scrum Events and How to Use Them, https://resources.scrumalliance.
org/Article/scrum-events
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 101

• Stories must have a persona and an epic.

• All personas and epics must be written in a consistent
manner to make filtering and sorting easier.
For example, backlog grooming may be held once or twice a week once
sprinting has started to make sure the stories meet the definition of ready for
sprint planning. Stories must earn their way to the top of the backlog.
An app always has a backlog with unfinished stories, unlike Waterfall where all
requirements have to be completed by the end of the release.
Writing a backlog in a spreadsheet or ticketing software such as Jira are both
popular ways that many companies use to manage their backlog. In Jira, epics
are called issues. Also, epics may span multiple personas. See the “Visuals”
section for more on how to show this in a visual way to clients.
Stories earn their way to the top of the backlog. Apps often have a backlog of
stories that haven’t earned their way into a release and stay in the backlog as
ideas. Every app has a backlog. There is always a list of unfinished stories
associated with an app. Stories must earn their way to the top. As time goes
by and stories are deprioritized for certain releases, they may become stale
or irrelevant because strategies have changed. So, it is normal for an app to
have a list of stories that never make it out of the idea phase and sit in the
backlog.
The product owner prioritizes stories by moving them to the top of the
backlog. The team talks through the solution for the stories. It is a
recurrent event.
Dependencies are important to identify from the project management level
all the way down to the story level.

Design
Designing a solution goes hand in hand with backlog refinement because
oftentimes in order to get the story to meet the definition of ready, more
design discussions and decisions are needed. If a story doesn’t have acceptance
criteria, the solution architect and the stakeholders need to further refine the
specific outcome that a user needs. Since acceptance criteria is written from
a design-agnostic perspective, then a solution architect can create a design
that meets the acceptance criteria or make sure the acceptance criteria is
written in a way that fits into the overall design.
Tasking the story means writing out the exact configuration or coding steps
so that the development team can build the app and meet the acceptance
criteria. This isn’t done in a vacuum story by story. The solution architect is
102 Chapter 9 | Build, Test, Deploy

looking at the solution as a whole to make this determination, looking at

things from multiple perspectives such as license type, budget, scope,
minimizing technical debt, and more.
One thing to note about license type is that purchased licenses grant access
to different parts of the platform. Knowing what was purchased is a starting
point for a solution architect. It goes a long way toward understanding the
scope and the general direction of the project. A lot of Salesforce licenses
have the word cloud in the name. Some popular clouds or licenses are Sales
Cloud, Service Cloud, and Experience Cloud (formerly Community Cloud).2

Dependencies
A dependency is something that is blocking the start of something else. For
example, if you are building a house, you must lay the foundation before you
build the walls. A common dependency in a Salesforce project is establishing
the data model, which is like a blueprint for the layout of a house. Setting up
the data model needs to be done before you start configuring the fields on
records and workflows and setting up the page layouts or user interface. The
data model sets up the objects and their relationships to each other and is
important to get right from the beginning. Rework to the data model is like
removing a wall in a house after it has already been built. It can be done, but
there are a lot of unintended consequences and risks than if you knew the
wall shouldn’t have been there in the beginning and just redid the blueprint.
Changing record types, workflows, and layouts is like changing the paint on a
wall, moving outlets around, and putting up trim and lighting. It is better for
the whole design to incorporate dependencies in an elegant way instead of an
after-the-fact patchwork.
Since a dependency needs to be completed first, it is harder to make changes
to it once it is completed. This is why sometimes people add rooms to their
houses. They can’t go back and redo the entire layout of the house from
scratch without a lot of time and effort. Systems that grow organically like this
over time have extra customizations that weren’t part of the original plan.
They may work, but there may be technical debt from over-engineering that
can lead to performance issues. It also complicates the design like how a Rube
Goldberg machine is an overly complex design for completing a simple task or
how the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, is so overly
renovated from decades of rework by its eccentric owner, it is a popular
tourist attraction.

2
Explore the Complete Customer 360, https://www.salesforce.com/products/
#products-scroll-tab, Retrieved on July 14, 2021.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 103

Sprint Planning
Sprint planning is an Agile ceremony where the stories are selected for a
sprint. Sprints are time boxes for completing a certain amount of work. A
short project may have two or three sprints, while a longer project may have
five or six sprints. An Agile project cannot have one sprint. That would make
it a Waterfall project because it would lack iterative development and
continuous feedback, which are two of the hallmarks of Agile.
Stories that meet the definition of ready are prioritized and selected for the
sprint by the product owner. The Scrum master facilitates sprint planning. The
level of effort of each story is also estimated. This is called story pointing.
Teams may estimate stories together as a group. One popular way to do this
is with an activity known as Planning Poker or Scrum Poker. It is a gamified
way for teams to estimate a backlog and is derived from the Wideband Delphi
estimation method that was developed by the RAND Corporation in
the 1950s.
When a team “points” a story, they assign it an estimate of the amount of
effort it takes to complete a story. It is not supposed to be a measure of time.
However, it is quite common for clients to mistake story points for time
estimates.
Two common ways to assign story points is by using T-shirt sizes or a Fibonacci
sequence. Using T-shirt sizes, a story may be assigned S, M, L or XL for a
small, medium, large, or extra-large level of effort. A Fibonacci sequence is a
fun mathematics formula where each number in the sequence is the sum of
two numbers that precedes it. 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...etc. For example,
a small level of effort story would be a one-point story, and a 21-point story
may be too much effort to even bring into a sprint and would need to be split
up into smaller stories. A Fibonacci sequence is also a naturally occurring
pattern in nature as sometimes referred to as the Golden Ratio (see
Figure 9-1).
104 Chapter 9 | Build, Test, Deploy

Figure 9-1. Seashell with a Fibonnaci spiral sequence

Velocity is a measure of how many story points a team can complete in a

sprint. Project managers keep track of this to help gauge the amount of work
a team can complete in a sprint. Velocity usually goes up as teams get used to
working together and norms are established.

Definition of Done
The definition of done is a list of criteria that a story must meet in order to
be considered finished. Like the definition of ready, the list is different for
every Scrum team. Here are some common examples:

1. The story needs to be unit tested, which means that

someone on the team needs to make sure to check the
developer’s work. This is different than the user
acceptance testing, which is at the end of sprinting and is
where the users test the functionality.
2. Code review passed.
3. Deployed to next environment.
4. Demo completed, but not tested and accepted by end
users (user acceptance testing) or deployed to production.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 105

Sprinting
Sprints are blocks of time where development work is done. They have
milestones and Agile ceremonies to give the team structure to support an
iterative build and get continuous feedback.

Daily Stand- Ups

Daily upstand-ups are an Agile ceremony occurring every day in order for the
team to brief one another. It is a self-organizing meeting, meaning that the
project manager and/or Scrum master does not have to run it for the team.
The stand-up is a short meeting of around 15 minutes or less where each
team member reports what they are working on and if they have any blockers.
Three basic questions are usually answered by each team member.

• What was done yesterday?

• What will be done today?
• What are the blockers?

A blocker is another way of saying that work on a specific task cannot proceed.
There are many reasons for this, and the Scrum master or project manager
plays an important role in helping team members unblock their issues.
Sometimes individuals need to talk after the stand-up to discuss issues in
more detail.
The Scrum board may also be displayed to show the progress the stories are
making. It is important for team members to keep their stories updated.
Figure 9-2 is an example of a Scrum board and shows how a team works
together to track the progress of development work. Some teams use Scrum
boards in Jira, while others may have paper boards on sticky notes in person.
106 Chapter 9 | Build, Test, Deploy

Figure 9-2. Example of a Scrum board

Identifying Risks and Issues

Risks and issues are identified all through the project. The whole team should
look for them. A risk is something that hasn’t happened yet but may happen.
An issue is a problem that has materialized and needs to be mitigated.
It is common for new risks and issues to emerge during sprinting because of
all the work being done. It is impossible to predict everything that may happen
beforehand, so when development starts, raising new risks and issues quickly
is important for team success. The project manager will keep a risk and issue
log and help the team manage them until they are solved or accepted.
On a Salesforce project, an example of accepted risk could be a risk where a
client computer needs to be shipped to a consultant before they can log into
Salesforce. There could be mitigations for this risk such as asking the client to
send the computer overnight to save time, or the project manager may accept
this risk because it falls within a tolerated level of risk.
Two common pitfalls to be aware of include regarding risks and issues are as
follows:
• Inaction when action is needed
• Inaccurate assumptions
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 107

Raising an issue is the first step to solving a problem. An issue needs a

mitigation plan to help solve it. Sometimes this means escalating the issue to
project leaders and communicating the impact that the issue is having on the
project. Then it is important to have a conversation about possible actions to
take to solve the problem. Passivity is not the best way to manage risks and
issues and can lead to confusion and revisionist history. Revisionist history is
when people make untrue statements about events that occurred in the past.
Documenting and working on risk and issues on a regular basis is the best way
to avoid this.
It is also important to communicate your assumptions around a problem.
People may arrive at different conclusions because they are assuming different
things. It is important to state what you have assumed in order to arrive at
your conclusion. Many times the differing perspective is at the assumption
level, and it is much clearer to have a conversation around differing assumptions
rather than a multitude of differing conclusions. For example, if you write a
report based on the assumption that the information that you need to draw
your conclusions are in the statement of work, then you can make a note of
that in the report under the assumptions section. You may find that everyone
is in agreement, or you may find that the client wants you to write your
report from the perspective of everything they have told you over the last six
weeks whether or not it is in the statement of work. If you write your report
this way, then you will wind up with a much different report. But either way,
it is still important that you state your assumptions in the report.

Sprint Reviews
A sprint review is an Agile ceremony run by the business analyst and is an
exciting time for a project team to demonstrate the up-to-date functionality
that has been completed and to receive feedback. Sprint reviews are important
because they validate the direction the team is going and can also help the
team make adjustments so that everyone is aligned. Demos are one of the
ways that continuous feedback is achieved.

Demo Tips
Here are some tips for the demo:

• Prepare. Create test accounts, test users, and any other

test data that you need for your demo ahead of time.
Creating a presentation with the scenarios that you are
going to show to help give your audience context and
lead them from a conceptual stage to a built-out feature
in the system.
108 Chapter 9 | Build, Test, Deploy

• Rehearse. Rehearsal is a useful metacognition strategy,

which means to think about your thinking. Rehearsing for
a demo helps you master your internal language and
thinking. Just because you plan it out in your head doesn’t
mean it will sound the same way when you say your
thoughts out loud. Create an outline and write down a
couple of key points that you want to cover. Practice
paraphrasing instead of reading your notes word for
word. You want to sound fluent when you say your
thoughts out loud and not stilted.
• Present. At the beginning, tell the audience what you
are going to present. Present it and then tell them what
you presented.
• Don’t point out mistakes. There may be mistakes in
the demo, which is okay. Don’t be thrown off or overly
apologetic by them. You may be focusing on minor issues
that are not even obvious to the audience. Ideally, your
rehearsal will have caught major issues. Even if something
unexpected does happen, try to go with the flow and
focus on what is working and what is interesting and
what progress has been made. A system during this stage
of development has not been fully tested, so bugs are
likely. The goal is to communicate the general direction
of the build and what has been accomplished. The demo
isn’t supposed to be the core purpose of a sprint review
although sometimes it does take center stage.
• Ask for feedback. Ask the audience if the update is
what they were envisioning for this sprint.
• Ask the product owner to accept the stories. After
feedback has been collected, ask the product owner to
formally accept the stories so they can be closed out and
preparations for the next sprint can begin. If the product
owner does not accept a story, then it must be prioritized
for the next sprint. Most likely it will be moved to the
next sprint, but it is possible that the product owner
wants to deprioritize it.

Retrospective
The retrospective is an Agile ceremony used to evaluate the project and
reflect on the sprint. There are common templates that are used for this
ceremony that center around the identifying activities that the team wants to
turn into norms that activities that the team wants to eliminate.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 109

The following are common questions during a retrospective:

• What went well

• What didn’t go well
• What you want to repeat
• What you want to stop

Visuals
Visuals can work wonders to better communicate complex or confusing
concepts. In addition to the visuals used in discovery that we have reviewed
such as the process workflow and a RACI, there are many more that can be
used throughout the project. Visuals are useful when communicating complex
concepts. It takes longer to teach someone a complex concept using words
alone. There is only so much information that people can hold in their head
while trying to learn something new. Oftentimes, people lose the thread of
information, especially if it gets too long and forks off in different branches
with different logical considerations. Once you go down several branches of
logic and discuss the possibilities, it is hard to keep up with everything that
was covered. Visuals help with this.

Work Breakdown Structure

A work breakdown structure is a visual representation of the work to be
completed. Sometimes this term is used in project management and is
synonymous with project plan, but in this context, it is a visual that shows the
content of the work that is to be completed and not the milestones in a
project. It helps to visualize a backlog. For example, If you are working on a
project with many personas and epics, creating a work breakdown structure
is useful. Figure 9-3 depicts the personas across the top row with the epics
underneath.
110 Chapter 9 | Build, Test, Deploy

Figure 9-3. Personas and epics

User Acceptance Testing

At the end of build, the end user gets a chance to test the functionality
themselves. This event is called user acceptance testing. Test scripts written
from the acceptance criteria in the user stories are used by testers to test the
system in a methodological way. This structure also ensures proper traceability
is maintained throughout the stages of the project. By the time a test script
gets in the hands of a tester, the tester has to report their findings. If they
question why a piece of functionality is working a certain way, then the team
can trace the functionality in question back to the user story.
There are three possible outcomes to a test script. They are defects, training,
or new ideas. A defect is reported if the test does not pass and the functionality
works differently than what the expected behavior is, which is also explained in
the test script. Defects are also called bugs, which is an old term that was
coined by Thomas Edison, but in 1947 computer science engineer Admiral
Grace Hopper was helping a colleague troubleshoot a malfunctioning computer
when she found an actual bug in it (Figure 9-4).3

3
Atlas Obsura, https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grace-hoppers-bug, Retrieved
on 8/28/2021
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 111

Figure 9-4. Photo of first computer bug (Source: US Navy, Naval Surface Warfare Center,
Dahlgren Division, Public Domain, Atlas Obsura, https:// www.atlasobscura.com/places/
grace-hoppers-bug, retrieved on 8/28/2021)

Training on the implementation also takes place at the end of the build phase
usually after user acceptance testing. Sometimes the consultants teach Train
the Trainer and Admin sessions so that trainers can teach users in the company
how to and administer the system. These are usually not Salesforce training
sessions that teach end users in-depth features of Salesforce as if they were
training to become experts. The training is more end user focused with the
aim of teaching stakeholders how to do their jobs using the system.

Deployment
In software development, the end of the project is when the software is put
into use or deployed. Sometimes this is called the release. Project managers
plan release schedules with clients so that certain pieces of functionality are
released in a given time frame that is preplanned.
Deployment means to make the application work in the appropriate
environment. During a project, the application moves from one environment
to the next depending on the stage of the project. For example, during the
build phase, the application is built in the development environment. Then
during UAT the application is moved to the UAT environment. Then when it
is ready for the end user to start using, it is moved to the production
environment, which is considered the “live” environment. Some projects may
112 Chapter 9 | Build, Test, Deploy

have a more complex environment plan with more environments to manage

other risks with release managers who are responsible for ensuring the release
plan is followed accordingly.

Summary
There are several Agile meetings that create structure in a project. They
include backlog refinement, sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews,
and retrospectives. Visuals should be used to help clients conceptualize
complex logic. User acceptance testing is a chance for end users to test the
system that gives feedback. Remember to conduct well-organized user
acceptance sessions. Mitigate the risk of scope creep by identifying
enhancements for future phases and training items. Deployment is the end of
the project when the application is moved to the production environment.

Resources
Winchester Mystery House, a house that was continually renovated for 36
years, https://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/
Planning Poker, a paid digital version of the Agile planning tool for virtual
teams, https://www.planningpoker.com/
 PA R T

IV

Consulting Skills
 CHAPTER

10

Client
Management
As a Salesforce consultant, you will need refined soft skills in order to help
clients achieve project success. Practicing soft skills or consulting skills is
something that is never complete. The more you practice them, the better
you become. Important soft skills for Salesforce consulting include client
management, communication, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking.
These skills are so important that I am dedicating a chapter for each one.
In this chapter, I will begin with an overview of soft skills followed by a way to
approach client management through identifying patterns. I have developed
archetypes for predictable patterns that I have encountered in my experience
working on Salesforce projects. The subsequent chapters focus on specific
soft skills and strategies, including key times in the project or situation to
utilize a particular skill.
There are a few predictable patterns that can emerge in projects that when
identified can be aided with soft skills. Identifying these patterns through the
archetypes presented in the chapter can help you identify and utilize the
correct soft skill needed to manage the client.

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_10
116 Chapter 10 | Client Management

What Are Soft Skills?

Salesforce consultants need more than technical skills to be effective. There
are a collection of nonfunctional or soft skills that are needed for effective
projects including but not limited to client management, communication,
emotional awareness, and critical thinking. Be aware that these skills are not
technical, but they are critical to becoming a successful Salesforce consultant.
Technologies are always changing, and new technical certifications are always
emerging. Soft skills don’t change, but they need practice. They are best when
they are refined over and over with time and experience.
According to a 2021 workplace effectiveness study, one of the biggest barriers
in the workplace is employee emotions or psychological commitment due to
organizational factors. These factors include, in part, leaders, co-workers,
bureaucracy, process, and implementation issues.1 Having the soft skills to
effectively work with clients is necessary.

Project Archetypes
Client management is an important soft skill to practice in Salesforce
consulting. Since Salesforce consulting is project-based work, it is paramount
to understand client behavior and patterns in the context of a project.
Depending on the circumstances, Salesforce projects may follow a predictable
pattern of behavior. To make this easier for you, I have named the patterns of
behavior that I have observed from my experience on dozens of Salesforce
projects. If you can identify a pattern, then you can map it to one of the
archetypes in this section. Not all patterns are bad. They help you figure out
which consulting tool in your toolbox to use for a given situation. To borrow
an old saying, when all you have is a hammer, everything requires a nail. I want
to teach you that every project is unique and to give you more than just a
hammer to solve issues. Also, don’t be surprised if you see two or three
archetypes in your project. Salesforce projects are dynamic. There is always a
different mix of people and technologies. Even time changes the dynamic. A
project done four years ago will look different if done again tomorrow.

The Hydra
A hydra is a multiple-headed serpent from Greek mythology (see Figure 10-1).
Hydra projects are projects with a split power base (they’re “multiheaded”).
For example, usually projects have one executive sponsor who is in charge of
communicating the vision and strategy, but on occasion, you may find projects

1
Understanding Barriers in the Workplace, LivingBluPrints, 2021 White Paper, https://
checkout.square.site/buy/E3H2OOG7D5VQ2VYFDFTVJIML
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 117

with more than one executive sponsor. This causes projects to behave like a
hydra. For example, one head may give directions that conflict with the other
head. One head could be from the business side of the organization and the
other head from the technology side. This can be problematic if you are the
consultant, because you may receive directions that align with one head but
then have a contradictory conversation with the other head. Since both heads
are in charge, this creates chaos, confusion, and swirling conversations. This
swirl creates inertia and causes timeline slippage, which naturally delays the
project.

Figure 10-1. A hydra: from Greek mythology, a serpent with many heads

Watch Out For

• Inertia
• Conversation swirl
• Scavenger hunts
• Schedule delays and budget overruns

Communication swirl is the most common side effect in a hydra, so if you

notice it, you may want to ask yourself if the swirl is being created when one
group communicates to you from one decision-making point of view and then
another person in a position of power contradicts the first person, and then
it loops back and forth. Communication swirl can happen in other project
archetypes, but on a hydra project, the swirl is being created by the
multiple heads.
118 Chapter 10 | Client Management

To be fair, from an organizational point of view, there may be good reasons

that responsibilities are divided between heads. Perhaps they share the budget
for the project. But from a decision-making perspective regarding project
strategy and execution, this model doesn’t translate effectively.
Please also beware of scavenger hunts on hydra projects because there is a
risk of too many uncoordinated, free-agent stakeholders. They can emerge as
a result of continual conversation and a misaligned strategy. Hydra heads with
disparate and distinct strategies for a project may send project members on
scavenger hunts to gather and analyze information to help prove their point
of view. Some requests may help align the two heads, while others may be
requests for scenarios that are edge cases or scenarios that are completely
out of scope. Depending on the timeline, extensive research and analysis on
what-if scenarios can turn into scavenger hunts that may have no impact on
the current project except to waste time. Beware of circular, repetitive, and
spiraling conversations with no resolution and tangents that dig into details
that lead the team farther and farther away from the main goal.

Strategies to Help
• Internal committee formations
• Timebox research and analysis requests
• Proofs of concepts

Don’t keep on going around and around from one contradictory conversation
to the next for an extended period of time. Once you identify it is happening,
then try to stop it. One way to do this on a hydra project is to determine if
there is a lack of coordination and communication between the multiple
heads. Ask yourself if you are hearing two distinct and separate goals from
them that are at odds with one another. To help the client form consensus,
suggest that they form an internal committee to align internally so that they
can communicate one vision and strategy to you and your team. Sometimes
clients create decision-making committees and assign a person such as the
product owner to communicate one message that the whole group agrees on.
Many times, this is the first time these separate groups have come together
to talk about the matters at hand, and it is time well spent.
Timebox research and analysis requests to avoid scavenger hunts on hydra
projects. If the swirl and scavenger hunt requests continue unabated and the
groups cannot align, then a proof of concept is another tool in your toolbox
that may help get the project back on track. The client may want to see what
one of their ideas will look like in Salesforce with their own data, fields, page
layouts, and reports and dashboards. This type of exercise is called a proof of
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 119

concept and is considered a separate effort from a traditional delivery project.

Many times, people are able to understand linear concepts through a visual
proof of concept easier than talking about it and looking at process flow and
data diagrams. A proof of concept is a small sample project used to
communicate a concept in context and is very effective for visual people. A
small sample of the requirements are used to build an example of what the
application would look like in a project. A proof of concept is similar to a
demonstration at the end of a sprint but comes before a delivery project starts.
If a client asks for a proof of concept, then consider it a separate project that
requires a change order. If the project is big enough, it may be worth it to the
client to spend the extra money to make sure they will be getting something
that they want. I have seen proof of concepts unstick hydra projects and help
their organization quickly decide on a design after months of inertia.

The Echo Chamber

The echo chamber is a project that does not have any client-side stakeholders
or has stakeholders with limited time. At the beginning of a project, consultants
ask for regular employee participation during kickoff and discovery and other
key meetings. This is so the project will have a greater chance at success. But
by doing so, it takes people away from their regular jobs. Unless their
supervisors have alleviated their responsibilities, they may have a hard time
dedicating themselves to the project and juggling the extra responsibilities.
This is especially true for the product owner who needs to dedicate more of
their time to the project than other project stakeholders. A project with
limited stakeholder participation creates a void that lacks ideas and solutions
and merely echoes back a lone voice or two. It also creates a major project
risk of the project team not receiving sign-off on the project from the client.

Watch Out For

• Unresponsiveness and lack of engagement
• Pushback
• Lack of accountability
• Last-minute changes
• Poor user adoption

Clients on an echo chamber project are usually overwhelmed from having to

do two jobs, so they may use coping mechanisms to buy themselves more
time or avoid accountability. Sometimes these behaviors may not be conscious
120 Chapter 10 | Client Management

deflections. But it is important for you as the consultant to recognize these

behaviors when you see them so that you can select the right tool in your
toolbox to manage the issue.
A common coping mechanism from someone who feels overwhelmed or
cornered because they have been assigned too much work is unresponsiveness
to meeting invites or sporadic acceptance of invitations. If this person is a
decision-maker, escalate this quickly because they may swoop in at the end of
UAT and throw the project into a tailspin with last-minute changes. Last-
minute requests from someone who has not participated in the project are
especially destructive, because the person making these requests often lacks
context of prior decisions made by the project team. It may take time to get
the person up to speed and read into the project, but if they are demanding
changes without knowing the design or other key decisions, then they could
cause a schedule delay.
Other coping behaviors include stakeholders who act clueless or passive
when asked for information. They may push back and refuse to accept
responsibility or deflect by saying that they aren’t the right person to answer
the specific question. This is a way to avoid accountability.

Strategies to Help
• RACI
• Escalate proactively and quickly
• Ask for more resources
• Hold monthly executive meetings

If you find yourself in an echo chamber project, it is important to act proactively

to set expectations with the client. It is good to anticipate what might need
to be done next instead of passively waiting for the right people to show up.
Passivity ultimately leads to a breakdown in communication and project delays.
If a key stakeholder is not participating in the project on a daily basis, then
escalate this issue to your manager.
There are quite a few tools to use to mitigate risks on an echo chamber
project. One thing to do right away is to create a RACI (see Chapter 7) so
that all the stakeholders know their roles and expectations. Define who is
accountable. Ask that accountable team members be involved in the project
and attend key meetings. Escalate issues to your project manager if they do
not participate.
Another tool from your toolbox in an echo chamber project is to suggest that
the employees receive relief from their other responsibilities to dedicate time
to the project. After all, the company has already made the decision to
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 121

purchase Salesforce consulting services, so it is in their best interest to get the

most for their money. Allocating resource time to the project is a good way
to ensure value. It is also a good practice to conduct monthly executive
meetings for people who are not participating in the project on a daily basis.
It is important to obtain a sign-off before moving forward. It is a common
mistake to keep moving forward just so you are doing something. This creates
an illusion of progress from the burning budget, but if all stakeholders are not
aligned, then it is a risk to the project.
Poor user adoption is a common outcome of echo chamber projects. You can
mitigate this by having change management activities incorporated into the
project. For example, find power users who can serve as change champions
for other users. Work the client side to help them create a change management
schedule for rolling out the new application and communicating key milestones
to users.

Swiss Cheese
A Swiss cheese project is full of holes similar to blind spots. In other words,
they are projects where key information is missing. Overall, this missing infor-
mation creates a partial, unfinished perspective of the project.
You will know if you are on a Swiss cheese project if you cannot get answers
to major information gathering questions. The five Ws often used in journal-
ism are who, what, when, where, and why. If you can’t answer all five, then
there is a blind spot on the project. Here is an example of how the five Ws
could look on a Salesforce project:

• Who are the stakeholders? Who is on the project team?

Who is the product owner? Who is managing the project?
• What is the scope of the project? What is the timeline?
What is the budget? What is the vision? What are the
goals? What problem does this project solve? What is
the business value that will come from this project? What
are the current processes? What are the current
technologies?
• When is the application due? When is the application
going to launch in production? When is user acceptance
testing?
• Where the kickoff going to be held? Where are the
Salesforce environments? Where is the project going to
take place? Where are the key stakeholders located?
122 Chapter 10 | Client Management

• Why is the company doing the project?

• How does this project fit into the overall strategy of
the company in terms of goals and key performance
indicators? How is the data organized?

These projects can have many stakeholders or very few. The important thing
is for someone on the project to understand and communicate the answer to
all your particular five W questions until the team is aligned. The answers
might not all come from one person. But the team should keep on asking until
all the blind spots are erased with a clear answer.

Watch Out For

• Answers to key five Ws missing from project
• Lack of engagement
• Poor user adoption

Strategies to Help
Keep asking the five W questions to every new person who joins the project.
Give homework out to stakeholders for any unanswered W question. If there
is a lack of engagement, then use tools from the echo chamber project.

The Explorer
Working on explorer projects is great fun because these are projects where
the client likes to learn and is deeply engaged. On explorer projects, the
stakeholders gain an understanding of the power of workflow automation. It
can be a transformational experience to show someone how to go from a
manual-based process such as paper or email to the first, small steps of an
automated environment. It usually opens up the creative mind and a plethora
of possibilities for tracking business intelligence. It is fun to watch someone
make this realization for the first time.
As a consultant, it feels a little like guiding someone up a hiking trail to the top
of a mountain. It is harder to explain the view from the top unless they see it
themselves. The same goes for understanding automation for the first time.
In the beginning, you may have to teach the basics of automation such as the
concept of statuses and how fields can trigger actions in the database. You
have to lead them up the path of understanding a minimum amount so they
can see the view at the top to see what is possible. Once they get there, the
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 123

possibilities do seem endless. Again your role is to make sure your client
doesn’t start running off in a million directions at once. Ideas are exciting but
at a pace. This is the heart of the Crawl, Walk, Run approach that I discussed
in Chapter 4.

Watch Out For

• Scope creep
• Rabbit holes
• Schedule slippage

Manage scope creep when ideas get out of hand. Talk about the long view.
Don’t get stuck in detailed unrelated analysis or rabbit holes in the middle of
a project. Remind the client of the current timeline monitor risks and issues
that may delay the project.

Strategies to Help
Explorer projects can become fast moving with all the ideas flowing.
Stakeholders like to explore new options and scenarios. It is important to
take the time to teach them about the evolution of automating an application.
Workforce automation is a gradual process. It requires a slower start with a
ramp-up to make decisions at key points. While it is an exciting time to
automate manual processes, not everything needs to be automated at once.
Teach your client to start with a minimum viable product (MVP) to pace the
vision. Work to come to an agreement on parts or the minimum features
required to create an application for the current release.
Help the client think through the phases of automating and make a plan to
proceed at a sustainable pace. Teach them about the Crawl, Walk, Run
approach. Then plan subsequent releases or a roadmap to look ahead and
incorporate more and more automation, business intelligence such as
predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and more.
Teach that at first it may make more sense to leave some tasks in the system
as user initiated based on decisions they need to make at certain times rather
than thinking of every permutation that can trigger a system to send a
notification, change a status or field, and set off another workflow. Human
decisions are still important. Some things still require a human to make a
judgment call, especially things with a high degree of variability. If there are
such decisions, then recommend they start with a manual entry in key areas
to leave room for human monitoring and decision-making.
124 Chapter 10 | Client Management

The Rube Goldberg

Let’s face it, Rube Goldberg machines are fun to watch because of the creativity
run amuck. The self-operating napkin in Figure 10-2 would be fun to watch if
it really worked. Of course, it is not something that you actually want to build
because it is highly inefficient. On a Salesforce project, over-customization of
an application can lead to Rube Goldberg type of solutions that create high
technical debt and poor scalability. They usually come about from scope creep,
which turns into overly complex designs. For example, an explorer can easily
turn into a Rube Goldberg project if not properly paced and planned out.

Figure 10-2. By Rube Goldberg, originally published in Collier’s, September 26, 1931, Public
Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9886955

Watch Out For

• Scope creep
• Rabbit holes
• Over-engineering
• Technical debt

Strategies to Help
If you are staffed on a project to develop an application in an existing org, it is
important to be aware of the level of technical debt that exists in that org.
When an org has high technical tech, it may be riskier for your project team
to successfully deliver your implementation. High technical debt means that
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 125

the code was written in such a way that makes it hard to modify in the future.
Mitigating this type of delivery risk is important to achieve project success.
One way to determine the level of technical debt is with a health check. And
it may be a good way to start your project. Health checks are analytical efforts
that check for performance issues and make suggestions for technical
modifications to remove complexity and customization so that the org does
not operate on the threshold of system limits.
If you are working in a new org and you find the project entering into scope
creep and rabbit hole territory, try to manage these issues so that the org
does not become over-engineered and turn into a Rube Goldberg machine.
Utilize strategies such as the MVP and Crawl, Walk, Run as discussed in the
explorer project to mitigate these risks. Focus on the design, the roadmap,
and the system architecture in the company as a whole. Here are questions
to ask the team:

• Would adding this requirement make the solution overly

complex?
• Is this feature better off somewhere else?
• How could it fit into a systems design plan?
• Do we need to redesign or refactor the existing code or
proposal? Don’t get stuck with a sunk cost fallacy with
endless patches instead of a redesign.

High Horse
High horse projects are projects that are dictated by one person. They aren’t
really team projects. The distribution of power is lopsided. This person can be
on the client side. Sometimes they are on your team. These projects become
dysfunctional quickly because one person with power does all the talking and
doesn’t listen. This is not the same thing as a project sponsor who has a
vision. This is a person who avoids accountability but exerts power over
the team.

Watch Out For

• Conversation swirl
• Revisionist history
• Misaligned expectations
• Rework, rework, rework
126 Chapter 10 | Client Management

Like on a hydra project, disorienting conversation that swirls around from one
topic to the next without resolution is common on a high horse project.
Best-practice recommendations become thwarted by leaders on high horse
projects. Changes lead to rework, which lead to revisionist histories and
misaligned expectations.

Strategies to Help
Manage risk and issues tightly. Work and rework mitigations. Record decisions.
Keep a conversation log. Memories are short on these types of projects. You
might have to go back in your logs to remember what was discussed a few
days or weeks earlier. Memories are short, and written logs and documentation
are important to remind the team of conversations and decisions made in the
past. Revisionist history is common if people forget past conversations.
Another approach is to try to build their confidence in you by demonstrating
expertise.
Most important, escalations are important to do on high horse projects
because they cause all kinds of risks and issues. Persuasion techniques and
logic arguments may seem effective at first but often result in gaslighting
techniques after the fact. If you find yourself on a high horse project, try to
remind yourself that not all projects are like this and see if there is anything
you can learn from the situation. Sometimes the worst projects teach you
the most.

Stick in the Mud

A stick in the mud is a project that is not moving along through the project
stages at a normal gait. It is stuck. These projects can have stakeholders who
are resistant to change or who can’t agree on important decisions. They are
slow-moving projects with just a handful of stakeholders and low adoption
rates for the organization. This is different from an echo chamber project
where the stakeholders don’t have enough time to participate, though they
do have some similarities such as lack of engagement and poor user adoption.
Stick in the mud projects are distinctively different because the stakeholders
refuse to participate.
For example, I once was on a project for a large organization where the client
gave the business stakeholders the option of whether they wanted to
participate. One of my responsibilities was to walk around the campus asking
different departments if they wanted to participate. Everyone said “no.” The
way they saw it was “If it ain’t broke, why fix it.” Nobody wanted to change
the way they were working even if their technology and processes were
outdated. They saw no reason to change. It was more work to change. And
the project sponsor did not have the power to mandate the change.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 127

Leaving it optional may get very little participation from people who are happy
with the way things have been going for them and see no reason to change the
way they work.

Watch Out For

• No buy-in from client stakeholders
• Poor user adoption
• Lack of mandate or incentive
• Schedule slippage

Strategies to Help
• Change Management
• Incentives

Most projects need some degree of change management to have sufficient

user adoption because of the very nature of creating something new. But stick
in the mud projects need change management the most. If you don’t have
stakeholders on the project, you have a problem. If you can’t mandate
participation, then incentivizing people with games or prizes is another option.

Summary
Client management is an important soft skill. Identifying patterns in projects
is key in helping you identify the consulting tools you need to utilize to
effectively help your client. From hydras to high horses, there really is no such
thing as a perfect project, but that’s what makes them interesting. Building
applications is a fulfilling endeavor. Just remember, a fun explorer project can
turn into a Rube Goldberg if you don’t manage the client and let ideas run
wildly away. A stick in the mud is similar to an echo chamber but with no
stakeholders. And a Swiss cheese project may feel surreal, but search for
answers. Don’t accept the holes. Gather information until you can see the big
picture.

Resource
Crawl Walk Run, https://www.salesforce.org/blog/crawl-­walk-­run-­
salesforce-­implementation-­guide/
 CHAPTER

11

Communication
Besides the willingness to learn, knowing how to effectively communicate is
the most important skill to possess as a Salesforce consultant Choosing a
communication method is such an important aspect to what we do in our
lives that taking the time to select the right medium is critical to effectively
communicate. You have to be willing to really listen in order to exchange
meaningful messages to teach and learn from one another. It is a mutual
exchange. Public speaking and writing are other key elements to master. Slack
is a new way to communicate at work and is an important medium to
understand.

The Medium Is the Message

“The medium is the message” is a famous phrase coined by Marshall McLellan
in 1964. It is a profound quote and has long been a favorite of mine, because
it distills the importance of thinking about the medium you choose when
communicating. McLellan meant that understanding the character of the
medium is as important as the message itself. As a Salesforce consultant,
selecting the medium in which to communicate a message to your team and
client is more important than you may first realize.
McLellan explained, “Indeed, it is only too typical that the content of any
medium binds up to the character of the medium.”1 This means that the

1
McLuhan, Marshall (1964). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. ISBN 81-14-67535-7.

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_11
130 Chapter 11 | Communication

message itself is restrained and organized by the medium in which it passes.

He proffered a lightbulb as an example of a medium without a message. The
bulb in itself is a medium. The electric light is pure information that passes
through the lightbulb; however, there is no actual message being transmitted.
Yet the medium that is the bulb still has an effect on us. The bulb creates light,
which helps people create spaces at night, a time that would otherwise be
dark. The light bulb is an example of a technology that changes society’s
norms and values.
When you think about it, the invention of new communication technologies
have redesigned and refined societal norms and values over and over again,
from the radio to television, from the landline rotary phone to the smart-
phone, from the Pony Express to social media, from email to texting. These
media establish a structure or arrangement for our awareness. And they all do
it with a unique flair. Each one commands our attention in a different way.
With this in mind, when you work on a project, take a moment to think
through your media selection so that you select the appropriate structure for
your message to live in. Think about how big the impression will be on the
receiver with just the media selection alone before anything is even
communicated.
What does it say if you pick up the phone to call someone versus sending an
email? Choosing your medium is as important as the message. For example,
when your phone rings and you answer it, how alert are you during that moment
after you say “hello” and are waiting for a response from the person? How
much attention are you generating compared to reading a message in your feed?
This is a difference with the amount of attention given to the medium.
Another example is Twitter, which is used for efficiency for people who want
to discover something new quickly. Messages are limited in length the same way
telegraph messages were limited and used for signaling. The average-length
telegrams of the 1900s were around 11 words long.2 So, whether you choose
a phone, slide deck presentation, conference call, text, email, or some other
medium, be aware of not only the message but also the medium. Choose wisely.

Listening
To listen well is an art of sorts. There needs to be a focus and a willingness to
take new information into an empty space in your mind. It takes some practice
to not speak when that first thought pops into your head when you listen.

2
Hochfelder, David (2012). The Telegraph in America, 1832–1920. The Johns Hopkins
University Press. p. 79. ISBN 9781421407470.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 131

Have you ever looked at a person while they were talking but were really
paying attention to your own thoughts? This isn’t listening. This is thinking and
pretending to listen. Listening may appear passive, but it is not. To listen fully
is to focus and direct your attention to the speaker and filter out other noises,
thoughts, and distractions with a goal of seeing things from another person’s
point of view.
When you focus on an empty space in your mind, there is a suspension of
animation. Each new piece of information that enters a mind in this state will
percolate if you let it. If you let it strain through your senses and don’t react
to it right away, then you are listening. You must engage your senses to listen.
Not just your ears. Your eyes also pick up nonverbal body language, and
perhaps the smells around you contribute as well. Touch certainly does. Sound
makes vibrations that can be felt. All these senses contribute to decoding the
message.
Taking the information in is only one part. One must also learn how to
communicate back. There are many ways to do this. Maintain good eye contact
and nod, but also say something that validates that you heard them. Simply
repeating back their own sentence to them works. And say the speaker’s
name. People love the sound of their own name. But be authentic. It is not
formulaic. Remember, it is an art. Listening is not complicated. It is not fast. It
is not frenetic and not a transaction. It is more Zen. It is smooth with curved
lines that drop in an echo chamber that collects into an amorphous shape that
is shared back and transformed into full communication.

Speaking and Writing

Sometimes choosing the right word can make all the difference. Subtlety can
go a long way, and even well-placed silence has a powerful effect instead of
filling every minute with words. Pay attention to the words you select. For
example, do you ever use the words “I just” when you are speaking or even
writing an email, as in “it’s just me”? Drop the “just.” It diminishes your
message and your power. You may use it because you may feel like you are
intruding on someone’s time, and it’s a way of saying “excuse me.” But your
message is better without it.
Two other common phrases that people often use interchangeably are “I
think” and “I feel.” You may be using one automatically and not even realize it.
Use both. But make a conscious decision when using them. Choose “I think”
to communicate a thought and “I feel” for emotions. You may have to analyze
what you want to communicate. Do you want to communicate a feeling? If so,
that’s fine. Humans have both thoughts and feelings. Just be sure that is what
you mean. “I feel good about this” and “I think this is a good idea” are two
different messages. You can think something is a good idea and feel bad about
it. Word choice is important.
132 Chapter 11 | Communication

Word choices also help when delivering messages that are hard. For example,
instead of telling a client that their idea doesn’t make sense and is not practical
or a best practice, use the word “unconventional” as in “That data solution is
unconventional.” This is nearly a compliment and suggests creativity. And if
you are on a Rube Goldberg project, this is probably really what you mean.
Also, repeating what you think you heard back to the person you are talking
to helps. Try saying, “Let me see if I understand what you said” and then
repeat back what they said. This type of clarification strategy helps make sure
that messages have been effectively communicated.

Public Speaking
As a Salesforce consultant, you will have to get comfortable doing a fair
amount of public speaking. The audiences may not always be enormous, but
you should be comfortable leading a session for 20+ people.
The more public speaking that you do, the better you will become. Trailhead
has a Public Speaking Skills module that can help you plan and find opportunities
to practice presenting. See the “Resources” section.

Slack
Slack is a whole new way for people at work to talk to each other. It brings
our personal and work lives closer together. Slack is an app that uses work-
spaces and channels for conversations.
I first encountered Slack in 2016, when I was working for a consulting company
that used it as their internal chatting service. Some of the channels were
project related, and others were a jokey type of communication that you
would normally have in the lunchroom. I was fascinated by this since the
majority of the company was remote and didn’t meet in an actual lunchroom.
One of the most interesting aspects of Slack is the stream-of-consciousness,
immediate communication you can do with emojis for any occurrence you can
think of. I’ll never forget the first time I saw the screaming head emoji pop up
in the middle of a meeting with the client. We were on a conference call, and
the client said something that triggered the solution architect who sent me a
message that just said “no'' followed by the scream emoji. I really understood
Slack as a medium at that moment. I got the “secret sauce” of the medium. It
was allowing people to communicate their emotions at work during a meeting
in real time. I had never before experienced what someone else was truly
feeling in the middle of a meeting in such an immediate and visceral way.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 133

It is easy to download Slack to your phone, giving you constant contact to

short chirpy messages from work. They are the types of messages that you
will probably want to read, so managing your notifications is important to set
work-life boundaries.

Summary
Communication is a critical soft skill needed as a Salesforce consultant.
Knowing how to select the proper medium for any given message will help
you become a better communicator. Practice listening and choosing the right
words and emojis when speaking and writing. Remember the medium is the
message.

Resource
Public Speaking Module on Trailhead, https://trailhead.salesforce.
com/en/content/learn/modules/get_ready_for_dreamforce_
become_salesforce_speaker
 CHAPTER

12

Emotional
Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is a paramount component of personal and professional
success. We all have emotions. We are emotional beings. We cannot avoid
having emotions. It is part of who we are. So, it is important to understand
the difference between a thought and feeling. It is also critical to recognize the
type of feelings that you are having as well as to try to practice empathy for
others so that you can try to surmise their perspective and emotions in order
to better relate and communicate with them.
Self-awareness is another key component of emotional intelligence. It helps
you understand how others perceive you so you can make adjustments in
your behavior if needed.
On a Salesforce project, emotional obstacles are common. From navigating
through the different stages of team cohesion to making mistakes to managing
burnout or even getting removed from a project, these situations are all
primed ground for emotional navigation. But fortunately cultivating resilience,
optimism, and gratitude help us find balance again.

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_12
136 Chapter 12 | Emotional Intelligence

What Is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotions and relationships go hand in hand. Awareness of your own emotions
and being able to communicate what they are in any given situation is critical
to developing emotional intelligence. Consulting is not only intellectually
challenging but also can be very emotional. Knowing how to recognize and
regulate your emotions is important. Emotional regulation is an attempt to
influence the types of emotions that you feel by looking at when you
experience emotions and how these emotions are expressed and experienced.1

What Is an Emotion?
First things first. A thought is not an emotion. This may seem obvious, or it
may not depending on how you perceive the world. Take a moment and ask
yourself if you understand the difference. Emotions create bodily sensations
and expressive movements. They are not the same thing as thought, although
thoughts can certainly trigger emotions. Where do we feel emotions? Well, it
depends on the emotion. For example, love and happiness are felt all over,
while anger is concentrated in the top half of the body.2
The word emotion comes from the Latin words for “move out.” Literally
speaking, it is energy that is moving. Emotions move around our bodies.
Believe it or not, if you stop and allow yourself to feel an emotion and do not
try to change it, it does not last that long. It moves through you and then out.
You do not have to bypass emotions even if they are uncomfortable.
Emotions also give us important information that we need to navigate the
world. Base emotions such as anger and fear are physical reactions to things
that may hurt us. For example, without anger, you can’t establish good
boundaries between you and other people or situations. Here is another one:
surprise. Surprise helps us remember details. Emotions overlap too. It is
possible to feel different degrees of emotions all at once.
Psychologist Robert Plutchik chose eight basic emotions and then divided
them up on a wheel (Figure 12-1). Similar to a color wheel, each primary
emotion has an opposite and a combination emotion that is a mix of two
primaries. There is also an intensity scale that increases as you get toward
the center.

1
Gross, JJ, 1988, “Antecedent and response-focused emotion regulation: Divergent conse-
quences for experience, expression and physiology,” Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 77, pp. 224–237.
2
Nummenmaa, Lauri, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Bodily Maps of
Emotions, https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2013/12/26/1321664111.
full.pdf
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 137

Figure 12-1. Plutchik wheel of emotions (Source: https://www.6seconds.org/2022/03/13/

plutchik-wheel-emotions/)

Plutchik’s primary emotions paired with their polar opposites are:

• Joy and sadness

• Trust and disgust
• Fear and anger
• Surprise and anticipation

Adding primary emotions together makes a new emotion. These can be seen
between the petals on the flower in Figure 12-1, as well as in Figure 12-2.
138 Chapter 12 | Emotional Intelligence

Figure 12-2. Emotion combinations

As you look down one of the petals, you will see that an emotion can be more
or less intense. Plutchik named these varying degrees as well. For example,
trust can vacillate between acceptance and admiration depending on the
intensity. Cultivate a good vocabulary for your emotions to enhance your
emotional intelligence and help build self-awareness.
Different emotions also control different parts of the brain. The left prefrontal
region is more active during happiness, while the right prefrontal region is
more active during negative emotions.3 Negative emotions narrow your
thinking, while positive emotions broaden your attention. One is not
necessarily good while the other bad. We need both perspectives. For
instance, a broadened perspective helps you harness your creativity, while
narrow thinking helps prepare for fight or flight.

Types of Emotional Turbulence on a Project

Conflicts are going to occur in project work due to group dynamics. There is
just no way around it. Implementing software is not straightforward, especially
when you are bringing together people who speak business language with
people who are speaking a technical language. Emotional events are natural
because whenever humans come together, our emotions intertwine. The
remainder of the chapter has three emotionally turbulent scenarios that I
have seen repeatedly on projects. Like the project archetypes, I have named
these patterns and offered a perspective to help regulate your emotions
through these experiences with self-awareness.

3
Emmons, Robert, A Thanks: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make you Happier, p. 74–75
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 139

Stormy Seas
As discussed in Chapter 8 in the section “Team Cohesion,” in the beginning of
a project such as discovery or shortly after, is where the storming stage can
cause low team morale. But stormy seas can occur anytime during a project.
Be aware of times when new groups are forming and are trying to learn how
to work together. Watch out for rigid thinking and confusion that may spur
on disappointments and anxiety that runs amok.

Perspective to Take
During stormy seas, it is important to use the emotional consulting tools that
you have to manage expectations with your team and the client. A good tool
to use when having difficult conversations is appreciation. Strive to show
authentic appreciation for the other person’s role and contribution to the
team. Practice listening, and set a goal to try to do things that will sustain the
relationship.
Empathy also goes a long way to making it easier to have difficult conversations.
There is nothing more visceral than making a connection with another person
through empathy and seeing things from their point of view to try to
understand why they are having a particular feeling. Start by asking the person
how they are feeling. Attempting to see their point of view to help you
understand how they may be viewing you from their perspective. This along
with your own self-awareness will help you see the delta, or difference.
Perhaps they are perceiving your actions in a different way than you intended.
Or vice versa.
Practice being aware of yourself and of the situation. Self-awareness and
situational awareness are important components to emotional intelligence.
Self-awareness is understanding the thoughts and emotions that are going on
inside your body from moment to moment as the situation changes and being
able to tell the difference between a thought and an emotion so that you can
react accordingly. Self-awareness also gives you a knowingness of what you are
good at and the kind of messages that you are communicating through your
emotions. Being self-aware helps you be authentic. Acting defensive is a quality
of inauthenticity. Learn to notice this in yourself and others. Situational
awareness means understanding the norms of an organization and being aware
that they are different from place to place. So, what might be acceptable
behavior in one organization may be frowned upon in another.
Also, remember to be optimistic. Optimism helps build resilience. Staying
positive and striving to reach your potential as well as encouraging others on
your team to reach theirs can also bring about happiness. The Greeks called
this eudaimonic living. Eudaimonic activities are associated with living in
140 Chapter 12 | Emotional Intelligence

accordance with one’s character and producing a positive self-image.4 There

are long-term activities that provide opportunities for personal growth as
opposed to short-term or hedonic activities. Passing a Salesforce certification
is a eudaimonic activity that should be savored. Savoring is a positive, optimistic
activity. Savor the moment to prolong the good experience. Savor your
victories. It helps prolong the experience into the future.

Dumpster Fire
A dumpster fire on a Salesforce project happens when everything that can go
wrong does go wrong and it stresses you out. There are many types of
dumpster fires such as a bad deployment or never-ending user acceptance
testing, but one of the most common types is a poor demo. Giving a good
demo is a skill that requires practice. It requires an essential combination of
public-speaking skills, technical knowledge, communication skills, and
confidence.
Live demonstrations of Salesforce functionality can be nerve-wracking,
especially when technical issues occur such as when unexpected errors pop
up on the screen or an application doesn’t work the way you expected it to.
But even if you rehearse ahead of time, which you should, and everything
works as expected, this doesn’t mean that the client will react like you expect.
Here are some possible reactions that may catch you off-guard.
The client may say that a piece of functionality is not at all what they were
expecting. If this happens, then ask them what they were expecting. Refer
back to the acceptance criteria. If their expectation is not in the acceptance
criteria, then point out this gap and say that it has to be explicitly stated, but
since it’s not, we can create a new story and talk through the requirement to
close the gap. If it needs more discussion, add it to the action items for
follow-up later.
If the person asking for changes is not part of the project team and has not
been involved in the project, then tell them you will look into their request.
Sometimes demos have a larger audience than just the core stakeholders.
Add the request to the action items. After the meeting, escalate this as an
issue to your project manager or product owner so they can find out what
this person's role is on the project and determine the next best course
of action.
Sometimes a client may throw out a random what-if scenario that you honestly
do not know the answer to. Good consultants are honest and tell clients if
they don’t know an answer. It’s okay to say that this question falls outside the

4
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-doesnt-kill-us/201901/
what-is-eudaimonic-happiness
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 141

scope of your planned presentation today and you are not prepared to talk in
depth on it, but you can have a discussion later about it. If you understand
what the question is but don’t know the answer, you can simply say that you
don’t know, but you will research it or consult with a colleague to find an
answer and/or options and get back to them. If you don’t understand the
question, don’t spend a lot of time trying to analyze it in the middle of a demo.
Instead suggest having further discussions with them to make sure you
understand the scenario. We all need time to think and process information,
so if you do, it is okay to communicate this. It's important to follow up later
if this is your answer. Make sure you announce it as an action item at the end
of the presentation.
At the end of the meeting, if the application did not work correctly or you feel
like you stumbled through things, don’t over-apologize for all the mistakes
that you think you have made. It may not be as bad as you initially feel it is. It’s
okay to apologize; just don’t overdo it. Do read back the list of action items
and make a commitment to get them answered and/or set up a time for
further discussion. And do this in a timely manner. Tell them you are committed
to finding the best solution to help them have a successful project and make
sure you are authentic and mean it.
If the client wants things solutioned a certain way but you know their request
is not an ideal solution, remember you are not an order taker. You are a
trusted adviser, and to act like a trusted adviser you need to have the self-
confidence and emotional intelligence to tell a client something they may not
want to hear in a way that they know you have their best interest in mind.
This goes back to selecting the right word such as “unconventional” rather
than “wrong” or “Yes, but…,” listening with empathy and knowing the project
archetype that you are in and responding accordingly.
If the client insists on something that is out of scope, there are several ways
to handle this. If you know it is out of scope, you can say that you could do it
as part of another project but not this one. If they don’t accept this answer
or if you are not sure if it is out of scope, you can ask them for a follow-up
meeting later and then proceed with your demo. Add this to the action items,
and announce it at the end of the presentation.

Perspective to Take
If you do make a mistake on a demo or somewhere else on a project, don’t
beat yourself up for doing a bad job. Mistakes are a normal part of the learning
process. You really can’t expect perfection from yourself no matter how much
experience you have. That’s idealistic thinking and not realistic. For example,
I have seen brilliant consultants give demos with broken calculations because
the developers were working during the demo and had turned off a flow in
order to make changes, thereby inactivating the calculations.
142 Chapter 12 | Emotional Intelligence

See mistakes for what they are: a chance to learn more, a chance to fine-tune
what you know, a chance to see the gap in your knowledge and build that
bridge that makes it complete, a chance to become an even better consultant
than you already are. In the previous example, the consultant instituted a
code freeze during all demos and told developers to do something else during
that time. Making mistakes is part of the path to excellence. Great athletes
and other successful leaders have great stories about their failures. Here is a
quote on failing from basketball legend Michael Jordon:

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve

lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been
trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.
I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And
that is why I succeed.”

It is hard to see with that kind of perspective in the moments of emotional

turmoil, but be patient with yourself and keep trying. Remember anytime you
try something new and fail, you learn and grow faster than if you succeed
without failing. Failing can be painful, but learning the value of failing is worth
it. Mistakes are part of the learning process of becoming a consultant. They
are lessons that stick around.
You may not have control of how the client reacts in a dumpster fire, but you
do have control over how you react to your thoughts. Rational emotive
behavior therapy, developed by Albert Ellis, is a form of cognitive behavior
therapy in which the central approach is based on ancient Stoic philosophers
who discovered that people are not affected by external events but by their
thinking of events.5 He taught the advantages of identifying irrational beliefs
and negative thought patterns to achieve self-acceptance. See the “Resources”
section for a link to his website and to learn more about how to examine and
challenge unhealthy thinking.
So if you leave a meeting with negative feelings, especially if you really did
make a mistake or were caught off-guard and said the wrong thing, pay
attention to your thinking. Perhaps you will experience catastrophic thinking
and ruminating thoughts about worst-case scenarios. This type of thinking can
lead to anxiety. Anxiety triggers the fight or flight response and is a physiological
reaction that in part makes your heart rate and breathing rate increase. Many
times the fight-or-flight response can seem like an overreaction to a situation.
Anxiety is actually a bodily response to danger. The amygdala, part of the
brain responsible for triggering the fight or flight response, is part of the
limbic system, which is linked to the processing of emotions. It constantly
scans the environment. When it is triggered, the fight or flight response

5
Ellis, Albert (1997). The practice of rational emotive behavior therapy (2nd ed.). New York,
N.Y.: Springer Publishing Company. p. 112. ISBN 0826154719. OCLC 35223015.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 143

activates, getting your muscles ready to fight or run away from a potential
threat. It is a really great response system for running away from a sabertooth
tiger. In modern times sometimes it’s too good and gets triggered when you
really don’t need it to, like when you are trying to give a presentation to an
audience. If only we could update the amygdala code with conditional logic,
something like “If giving a presentation, then do nothing.”
Anxiety is also a coping mechanism to resisting emotions. In other words,
anxiety covers up the underlying emotions that our bodies do not want us to
feel. The ones it has decided are much worse to feel like sadness. It blocks
emotions.6
Anxiety is set off by catastrophic thinking that overestimates the probability
of something bad happening. This worry triggers the amygdala, and you are
ready to run even if there is no threat around. These triggering thoughts can
occur over and over again and keep retriggering the amygdala. If it is not
triggered again, the anxiety will dissipate. You have to catch the triggering
thoughts, though, and sometimes that is easier said than done. If the thoughts
keep going around in circles, it is called rumination and can keep retriggering
the fight-or-flight response.
But with a little practice, you can control how you react to your thoughts.
Start by reaching out to your mentor, manager, or a friend to talk about your
thoughts and feelings. When asking for help, try to not feel guilty about
wanting to talk. Asking for help doesn’t mean you are needy, and it’s okay to
give up a little control to receive help. It may introduce a new dynamic in your
thought pattern and be just what you need to help stop retriggering your
amygdala and stop the ruminating thoughts.7 Connection with others is
something that humans are wired to do. We are innately social. We need each
other, like bees who make hives. We make cities with skyscrapers so we can
all live next to each other and help each other run the city. Yes, even if you are
an introvert, you still need human connection, because human connection is
essential for human well-being.
Daily meditation is also a good practice to manage anxiety. It brings your
attention to the present and helps release emotions that have gotten stored
in your body throughout the days and weeks. Breathing techniques can
interrupt stress hormones. Learning to invite your emotions in and breathing
slowly as you experience them helps transmute or change them so they
dissipate. Move around to help emotions move around your body better and

6
Cushnir, Raphael, The Truth About Anxiety, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/
blog/emotional-connection/201107/the-truth-about-anxiety-0
7
Stieg, Cor, Everyone needs help during the coronavirus pandemic- here’s the psychologi-
cal reason why asking for help is so hard, CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/22/
why-asking-for-help-is-so-hard-and-how-to-get-better-at-it.html
144 Chapter 12 | Emotional Intelligence

not get stuck. Remember, they are there for your protection and are trying to
tell you something. You should feel an emotion, but this doesn’t mean you
need to act out a response to the behavior.

Burnt
You want to avoid becoming torched to a crisp and burned out on a project.
Managing burnout is all about creating balance in your life. Projects have slow
times and fast times. I call these peaks and valleys. Different roles are busy at
different times. Generally speaking, project managers have the most work in
the beginning in the planning stages while developers are busier toward the
end during deployments. But burnout can occur at any time, especially if you
are traveling a lot, working more than 40 hours a week on a continuous basis,
or the project has an extended storming stage, which may cause continued
and unmanageable emotional turbulence.
My friend, Kai, has experienced his share of burnout. He has worked with
Salesforce for more than a decade, first as a sales leader and later as an
executive for a successful Salesforce systems integrator. Working more than
40 hours a week was always the norm for Kai. What started as a normal gig
evolved into managing multiple departments and dozens of employees, all the
while helping to steer the growth strategy for one of the fastest-growing
companies in the ecosystem.
At first, when he was in his 30s, Kai didn’t mind working more than 40 hours
a week and thought it seemed normal like a “badge of honor.” After work,
everyone would start texting, and it felt like the fervor in which he worked
just spread to his co-workers. Plus, it was fun. There were a lot of after-work
activities that came from being courted by ISV partners or other happy hours,
parties, and ball games for clients. The days and nights just bled together.
During 2010–2013, he estimates that a typical week was easily more like
50–60 hours. And with his daughter’s birth in 2011, the demands on his time
just increased, and he kept going at this pace.
Then in 2013, he added travel and another child to this mix. You can probably
see where this is going. His company opened a Chicago office, so the trips
increased, and his son was born. Between 2013 and 2018, his pace was so
frenetic that he says it just felt like a “blur.” He was traveling every week
mostly between Labor Day and Memorial Day, which is nine months out of
the year. The trips were often to multiple destinations as well to see as many
people as possible in the shortest amount of time. In order to maximize time
with his family, he would take red-eye or 6 a.m. flights. If he wasn’t already
suffering from sleep deprivation before, he definitely was now.
Burnout is gradual and sometimes hard to identify right away, especially if
there are underlying medical issues. Kai thinks he was in denial about it when
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 145

he took medical leave in 2018. He made an attempt to try to balance his

work-life time. He took two months off that year and felt great afterward.
Almost immediately, he dove back into work as if nothing had changed.
Dreamforce was a few weeks after he came back, and Kai ended up with an
upper respiratory infection for almost six months afterward. Then the
pandemic hit, and while the travel stopped, the changes and challenges wore
on his physical and mental health. He finally realized, after thoughtful
consideration with his company’s leadership, that he had to change every
aspect of his work life, starting with another medical leave of absence. Upon
his return, he scaled way back on his work responsibilities and started a daily
meditation routine. He also completely overhauled his diet and set a daily
exercise goal. His daily step goal is 10,000 minimum. He also makes sure he
gets enough sleep, talks to a clinical psychologist on a weekly basis, and has
adopted a holistic perspective on his medical care rather than managing
symptoms.
See the “Resources” section for Kai’s recommendations and his explanation
in his words on why they were helpful to him on his journey.

Perspective to Take
Annoyance, anger, and stress are common when you are burned out. And
emotions can intensify if left unacknowledged. An annoyance can turn into
anger. It is important to assign your emotions a label so you can monitor their
intensity to see if they are getting more or less intense. Then take intentional
steps to create more nonwork time around you to address the issue that you
have identified to help manage the burnout. Whether it is traveling less, taking
a vacation, going for a run, or using another stress management tool, aim for
balance.

Booted
One of the most challenging experiences that can happen to a consultant is
being removed from a project. It hurts and can be tough to maneuver through.
But this event, like mistakes, are great learning experiences and make you
stronger. Consultants get removed from projects for many reasons. Sometimes
the firm cannot sell anything and therefore cannot afford to pay you anymore.
Other times you may be assigned to a project that stretches your skills, and
you make mistakes or can’t effectively communicate with the client. You may
not receive enough management support, and you are blamed rather than
coached. Sometimes the client wants a different consultant for reasons
outside your control. Or it’s just too tough a crowd for you to know how to
manage. If your emotional intelligence is not fully developed, your self-
awareness may not be astute enough to accurately “read the room,” and you
146 Chapter 12 | Emotional Intelligence

may come across differently and in a way that you don’t realize. It may spiral
out of your control. Or you may not know how to do the role, but you don’t
want to stop trying because you don’t like to quit things, but you have run out
of time for some reason.
Whatever the reason, there is a cognitive dissonance between the courting
that is done by recruiters and managers who want to hire you at the beginning
of the employment process and the forced “goodbyes” at the end. There are
a whole variety of behaviors from managers at the end and a whole range of
ways you may react to the change. Since these are not everyday events, you
probably don’t have a lot of practice, and this can be a tough thing to manage
emotionally.
First, the good news—just because you are removed from a project doesn’t
necessarily mean that you are out of a job. If you work for a reputable
consulting firm and generally do a good job on projects, then the firm will
most likely find you another project. But if the circumstances are such that
the firm doesn’t think you can add value then, then they may ask you to leave
the firm entirely.
Unfortunately, there are people in this world who do not know how to
empathize. It is not your job to teach them how to. It is, however, important
for you to protect yourself from people who are not communicating with
empathy when you are. Sometimes someone who lacks empathy can subtly
bully or gaslight a person. Gaslighting can feel like very calculated manipulation.
It is insidious and gets ahead of you before you realize what is happening. It
can occur in the workplace because power structures are common. There are
things you can do to protect yourself. A deep delve into gaslighting is outside
the scope of this book, but I have left a few resources at the end of this
chapter if you feel that you have encountered this behavior at work.

Perspective to Take
Oftentimes business decisions and empathy or human-centric decisions are
opposite sides of a coin, but on the bright side, after a bad event, positive
emotions will be there to help you move on. Learn to cultivate positive
emotions by taking purposeful actions.
We all have resilience, and there are things we can do to enhance it. It may
seem counterintuitive to seek out positive emotions after you have been
kicked off a project. You should definitely take time to acknowledge and
process the negative ones that are there to tell you that you have been hurt.
But remember positive and negative emotions influence thoughts. Experiencing
positive emotions increases resilience. Finding positive emotion such as
humor in the middle of a stressful situation can really help move you away
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 147

from the negative feelings. A support network of family and friends is also
important to have. Use resilience to move on.
Love and gratitude are key components in resilience, and this is what you
want to feel from your support network. Practicing regular grateful thinking
leads to increased happiness. Thanking a person in your support network is
an act of gratitude and a step toward a positive feeling.
Gratitude requires action to thank another person for their part for the
positive outcomes in your life. It helps you go outside yourself, unlike
depression, which is an emotion that keeps your thoughts internal. The act of
reaching out to someone to give thanks reinforces the idea that we need
people and can’t do everything ourselves.
According to Robert A Emmons, PHD, and author of Thanks,

“Gratitude takes us outside ourselves where we see

ourselves as part of a larger, intricate network of
sustaining relationships, relationships that are mutually
reciprocal…”
“...Gratitude drives out toxic emotions of resentment,
anger and envy and may be associated with better
long term emotional and physical health.”

Perhaps it was in utilizing the skill of resilience to feel positive emotions that
led humans to start making stone tools. The person who created the first
stone tool lived in Tanzania, Africa, nearly two million years ago. The Olduvai
stone chopping tool is a stone that has been chipped away to give way to a
sharp edge. This person who made this thought there was a better way to do
something, and creating this tool allowed the person to have more experi-
ences with meaning and purpose. This chopping tool and the ones made after
changed a lot of things for humans living at that time. The tool helped them
to strip the meat off animal bones and consume more protein including the
bone marrow, which helped their brains grow. It also allowed them to travel
far from home because they could use it to strip the branches off trees.
Eventually, humans started to depend on it. It was the first technology, and we
have been utilizing this flexible adaptation through refining and resilience
ever since.
148 Chapter 12 | Emotional Intelligence

Summary
From an emotionally chaotic project to making mistakes, managing your
emotions on a project can be challenging. Remember, a feeling is how you
experience an emotion. It is not the same thing as a thought. Practice empathy
to traverse difficult relationships. Maintain balance in your lifestyle to avoid
burnout. Manage anxiety by remembering your thoughts are triggering your
emotions. Be mindful of the content of your thoughts. Most important, if you
get the wind knocked out of you unexpectedly on a bad project, remember
that you are human, and that means you have resilience. You can cultivate
optimism. You can grow. You can learn. You can rise up stronger than before
and try again.

Resources
The Albert Ellis Institute, cognitive behavior therapy that examines and
explores ways to challenge unhelpful thinking, https://albertellis.org/
rebt-­cbt-­therapy/
Ten Tips to Help You Stop Ruminating, https://www.healthline.com/
health/how-­to-­stop-­ruminating
Qoya, free movement videos to help unstick stuck energy, https://www.
qoya.love/movement-­videos
VIA Survey of Character Strengths, a free and quick assessment to help you
understand your best qualities, https://www.authentichappiness.sas.
upenn.edu/questionnaires/survey-­character-­strengths
The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming
Life’s Hurdles, a book by psychologists Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatte who
teach the importance of resilience and how to improve this innate skill,
h t t p s : / / w w w . a m a z o n . c o m / d p / B 0 0 0 F B J C Q C / r e f = d p -­k i n d l e -­
redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
7 Signs of Gaslighting at the Workplace, https://www.psychologytoday.
c o m / u s / b l o g / c o m m u n i c a t i o n -­s u c c e s s / 2 0 2 0 0 7 / 7 -­s i g n s -
­gaslighting-­the-­workplace
That’s Not What Happened! How to Deal with Gaslighting in the Workplace,
h t t p s://www.jucm.com/thats-­n ot-­w h a t -­h a p p e n e d -­h o w -­t o -
­deal-­with-­gaslighting-­in-­the-­workplace/
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 149

Meditation Resources
Tara Brach, PhD, is an internationally known meditation teacher. On her Tara
Brach podcast, Tara shares stories and meditations that blend Western
psychology and Eastern spiritual practices. She teaches the value of mindfulness,
meditation, and self-compassion in relieving emotional suffering, serving
spiritual awakening, and bringing healing to the world, https://podcasts.
apple.com/us/podcast/tara-­brach/id265264862
Meditation Trailhead Module from Salesforce, https://trailhead.
salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/mindful-­living
Headspace.com, app started by Andy Puddicombe who cut short his sports
science degree to become a Buddhist monk; it has guided meditations,
animations, articles, and videos
Calm.com, an app for sleep, mediation, and self-improvements with video
lessons in mindful movement and gentle stretching, sleep stories, nature
scenes, and sounds for working, studying, or sleeping as well as audio programs

Kai’s Recommendations for Managing Burnout

These are resources that Kai used to manage his burnout, including his
perspective on what he specifically found useful in them.
https://www.parsleyhealth.com/: “Through Parsley, I learned that I can
take control of my health and focus on wellness and prevention. Previously,
relying solely on western medicine to relieve symptoms never cured my
underlying conditions.”
Letting Go, The Pathway of Surrender by Dr David Hawkins : “To change your life
in any capacity, you have to be willing to let the things that consume you go.
A very tall task for any person, but having the awareness is key to being able
to make the change necessary. Someone I met on my meditation journey
introduced me to this book, and it changed my life.”
Transcendental Meditation: “This is my personal preference for meditation
but the key is to find something that works for you consistently.”
 CHAPTER

13

Critical
Thinking and
Problem-Solving
Skills
Critical thinking is a type of systematic thinking that is used to solve problems
using logic. The first step is to gather the information needed to help you
solve your problem. You start by analyzing and evaluating sources for authority
to give you the best shot at finding something truthful and unbiased. Watch
Out For information overload. Access to information is easier than ever these
days, and it is easy to get overwhelmed by it all. As you conduct your research,
keep your information organized by filtering, synthesizing, and distilling it. And
keep your effort timeboxed. Start broad enough to obtain a wide berth, like
a fisherman casting a large net into an ocean. This helps find multiple points
of view. But don’t spend more time than necessary. Practicing collecting what
is sufficient to answer your questions.

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1_13
152 Chapter 13 | Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

Learn to skim information for key points and use the search feature in
documents to find relevant keywords. Finally, watch out for cognitive biases
that are thinking traps that humans have a tendency to fall into under specific
circumstances. There are more than 180 cognitive biases, and the list grows
all the time. You don’t have to memorize every one, but you should have a
good reference resource to monitor from time to time and see if any of them
apply in your present situation. You’ll find good source for cognitive biases in
this chapter.

What Is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking helps people solve problems systematically using facts and
data. It involves going through a process of gathering information, analyzing,
evaluating, and synthesizing the information to help solve problems in a timely
manner. Logic plays a predominant role in critical thinking, because the goal of
critical thinking is to solve problems well and not in a haphazard manner.

Gathering, Analyzing, Evaluating

Gathering and analyzing information is the first step in problem solving. The
main goal in gathering information is to collect enough truthful and accurate
information for later analysis. This analysis will be utilized to solve the problem.
When you are collecting information, you need to check the authority of your
source. An authoritative source is one where the author has the knowledge
and experience that qualifies them to communicate as an expert on a given
subject. In the academic community, authority is indicated by credentials,
previously published works on the subject, institutional affiliation, awards,
imprint, reviews, patterns of citation, etc.1
On a Salesforce project, you want to make sure you are talking to the most
knowledgeable person on the subject in the context of the problem that you are
trying to solve. For example, during discovery you are usually analyzing current
business processes and technologies. There may be many business processes
with many specialists. Make sure you are talking to the most knowledgeable
expert. If you are not sure, then ask them if there is anyone else they think you
should talk to on topics that you should know about for project success. On the
technology side, there is usually a group of people who understand how the
system architecture of the organization is constructed. You want to divide your
questions up by their specialties and record the information in a systematic
fashion. If you are researching best practices in the industry, look for the most
knowledgeable people and trusted sources in a specific specialty of Salesforce to
help you gather pertinent information to analyze.

1
Reitz, Joan. Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science: Accessed 11/07/2021
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 153

Watch Out For

Bias
As you start to analyze the information that you have collected, you need to
evaluate it for bias and inaccuracies. Examine the assumptions that the sources
make and determine if they align with the assumptions for the problem at
hand. Use logic to determine if you have a gap in your assumptions or if the
assumptions are biased, irrelevant, or inaccurate.

Differentiate an Opinion from a Fact

Stay away from biased opinions when doing research unless you want to show
two sides of an issue and the argument for each side. Just make sure you
present the research as opinions and not facts. Provide balanced information
back to the client.
The Internet is a useful tool for gathering information. But sources like
Wikipedia are not considered authoritative. Wikipedia may reference
authoritative sources, but each one should be evaluated independently for
authority. Salesforce itself has a plethora of good resources and should be
considered authoritative for Salesforce consulting research. There are various
experts in the field, some of which are mentioned in this guidebook. In
general, try to get the answer to your research questions from multiple
sources to see if patterns emerge. If you are looking for industry research,
then look to industry reports such as Gartner, which publishes a series of
market research reports for the IT industry called the Magic Quadrant.
Conducting interviews from experts is another good way to gather truthful
information. You may do this during discovery with subject matter experts on
the client side. Or you may interview other Salesforce consultants to get
recommendations of authoritative resources.

Information Overload
There is a balance between not having enough information and having too
much. Consuming too much information is called information overload. Futurist
Alvin Toffler popularized the term in his famous book from 1970, Future Shock.
He said,

People of the future may suffer not from an absence of choice but from
a paralysing surfeit of it. They may turn out to be victims of that peculiarly
super-industrial dilemma: overchoice.
154 Chapter 13 | Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

In Salesforce project work, discovery is the most common time for information
overload to happen. Information overload occurs when you are inundated by
an avalanche of information in what feels like an unorganized flood that is
impossible to process and feels overwhelming. A popular business idiom,
“drinking from the firehouse,” alludes to this predicament. Being exposed to
too much information can impede your systemic process to problem solving,
and it is important to learn to become aware of when it is happening so you
can manage it.
In Salesforce project work, it’s easy to become consumed and distracted by
the small things when you are gathering an excessive amount of information.
Toffler also said,

...You’ve got to think about big things while you’re doing small things, so
that all the small things go in the right direction...

Remember the goals of the project. Salesforce project work is very detailed.
Don’t lose sight of what you are trying to accomplish and by when.

Strategies to Help
There are several things you can do to manage information overload. Here are
some tips to manage information overload on a Salesforce project.
Gather Relevant Information. For example, during a discovery meeting,
take notes, but don’t try to write a transcript of everything the person
is saying.
You don’t have to consume every piece of information. Learn to skim. Separate
the signal from the noise. Consume information in an orderly way. Allow it to
queue and process it on a regular basis. It doesn’t need to be in real time
unless there is a specific reason to do so.
Don’t record every meeting. Doing so will create an enormous amount of
noise and can take a long time to go back and listen to. Do record key meetings
where detailed information is shared and has high value where the information
is not going to change frequently such as current state business processes.
You don’t need to record status meetings where updates change every day.
Strive for balance. Prioritize value over quantity.
Make Information Clear to Understand. Capture the key points and
make a separate section in your notes for action items and next steps.
Filter information through the use of categorizing. Tag notes with categories
to help you with the synthesis process. See the next section for more on this.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 155

Delegate information-gathering responsibilities to other people on your team.

Don’t go it alone. Ask everyone to chip in and compare notes. You may even
want to use the same notes document by sharing a document using Google
Docs or another tool. Type notes together in real time in a discovery meeting
so multiple versions of a document are not created and so you don’t have to
go back and combine all the separate documents into a single source later.
Instead, use one document and create sections for each person to enter their
notes. Try not to solution during discovery. Focus on gathering the information
before you design.

Time Management
Timebox information-gathering discussions. Create an outline or agenda of
the topics that you would like to cover during a session. During the meeting,
redirect the group when participants go down unnecessary “rabbit holes” or
“detailed tangents” and suggest setting aside these topics in a parking lot. A
parking lot is just a list of items that need further discussion at a later time.
After the meeting, decide how much time you should allocate to follow-up
discussions around the items and if they are needed or not. Determine which
items are required inputs for the analysis stage and prioritize those first.

Synthesizing and Distilling

Another key component of critical thinking involves synthesizing and distilling
information into manageable, logical chunks to help with problem solving. The
chunks of information are then compared and contrasted using various
metrics, calculations, and equations. For example, after you compare one
chunk of information with another, it can be analyzed as a Boolean and
visualized using a Venn diagram. Figure 13-1 illustrates how a Venn diagram
can communicate distilled analysis. In this example, the project team analyzed
the client’s business processes in the customer success, marketing, and sales
departments and came to the conclusion that the marketing department had
business processes that overlapped with customer success and sales.
The project team found that there was duplicate effort occurring in silos and
recommended a more streamlined approach where the three departments
would share information in an omnichannel or multichannel to offer a unified
360-degree view of information for all three teams and customers.
156 Chapter 13 | Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

Figure 13-1. Venn diagram

Matrixes are another useful tool to utilize to organize information in a

structured way. Synthesize the information by bringing it together from all the
sources into one matrix, which will help you keep it organized. Distill it by
eliminating extraneous or duplicate information. The tags that you created in
your notes can be used as column headers in your spreadsheet and then
grouped and filtered to compare and contrast and identify patterns.
For example, the matrix in Figure 13-2 helps you see the logical connections
between ideas to deduce consequences. In this example, the consultant
learned that the marketing team would like to create new contacts that they
receive from meeting people at conferences. But during an interview with the
sales team, the sales manager indicated that the only roles that needed to add
new contacts were the sales and customer success teams. By creating a
matrix, to analyze this information, you can see that the two requirements are
in direct conflict with one another. According to the following analysis, the
marketing department can only read the records on the contact object. They
cannot create new records. This discrepancy should be discussed with the
product owner so that the business can make a collaborative decision.
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 157

Figure 13-2. Matrix

Try to understand the reasons behind decisions. In this example, the consultant
may want to ask why they want the marketing department to have read-only
access. Their answer may be that they don’t see a need for it, but if the
marketing department explains that they need to create access to help sales
have contact information to more people and potential opportunities, then
the sales team may agree. Sometimes Salesforce consultants may recommend
starting with an open org where all users are given access to create, read, and
edit all objects, and then they ask stakeholders why a persona should not have
access to a piece of information. If the stakeholders cannot think of a reason,
everyone has access. If a reason comes up later, it can be discussed, and access
and/or viewability can be restricted later.

Cognitive Biases
Sometimes our thinking fails us, and we inadvertently fall into a blind spot or
a cognitive bias. There are more than 180 cognitive biases. The Cognitive Bias
Codex, designed by John Manoogian III and Buster Benson breaks down the
cognitive errors into four main categories of information overload, meaning,
memory and speed. The link in the resources section will take you to a large
version of the Codex. The Codex is very detailed. I encourage you to visit the
link. I have highlighted some biases that you may encounter on a Salesforce
project in this chapter, but it is in no way an exhaustive list. I recommend
reading through the codex and referring to it from time to time. It is
updated often.

Bike-Shedding Effect(Parkinson’s Law of Triviality)

The bike-shedding effect is the argument that people in an organization may
give disproportionate weight to trivial issues. It was first identified by
C. Northcote Parkinson in 1957 who gave the example of a group of people
at a nuclear power plant who spent the majority of their time discussing minor
158 Chapter 13 | Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

but easy-to-understand issues such as what color the bicycle shed should be
while ignoring the overall design plan for the plant itself. You may encounter
this behavior on a Salesforce project if, for example, a client is overly focused
on the user interface help text rather than making sure they have enough data
to complete the critical path of the application. Or if they are overly focused
on a minor edge case that affects 1 percent of the users instead of focusing on
the main design of their application, which affects all of their users and is
needed to achieve project goals. Minor, noncritical edge cases should be solved
outside the main design of the system. Sure, there might be some high-risk
edge cases that force a major design decision, but most of the time minor,
noncritical edge cases are for a small number of users and are exceptions
outside the happy path. Software development is iterative. Build for the happy
path for the majority of the users. This means to spend time evaluating the use
cases that apply to the majority of the users, the core requirements.

Information Bias
Information bias is when someone thinks that gathering more information will
make it easier to make the decision when in fact additional information is not
needed to make a decision. For example, on a Salesforce project, this bias may
come up when the team is trying to make design decisions. There is a law of
diminishing return that happens with examining every use case and solution
done in the past that is similar to the one you are researching. Time has a way
of making information stale, and old solutions don’t necessarily work in the
present moment. Salesforce is constantly publishing new releases, and the
best way to do things is constantly changing and evolving.

Irrational Escalation (Escalation of Commitment)

This is a pattern where people when faced with a negative outcome over and
over again from a previous decision continue to act in the same manner rather
than alter their course. An example of this behavior on a Salesforce project
could be if a client has a strategy for retrieving the source of the data they
want to use in their application, but for one reason or another fails to produce
it. Maybe they cannot gain access to it after all, but instead of changing their
strategy, they maintain actions that are irrational but align with their previous
decision.

Automation Bias
Automation bias occurs when people over-rely on automated functionality
and stop thinking through what the automation is doing. In Chapter 4, I
explained the benefits of humans working with automated systems. This is
one of the reasons. Programs are not perfect. Automation does not solve
 Salesforce Consultant’s Guide 159

every problem. There is still a need for error handling and monitoring and
placing value on the things that humans can do to supplement the automation.
For example, integration errors can occur on a batch upload that is processed
nightly. Just because it worked perfectly the night before doesn’t mean it will
work perfectly the next night. The program will produce error reports that
must be reviewed by a human to figure out why the error happened and
correct the mistake. It could be something as simple as a calculation field
being wrong after a certain amount of time because of the formula that was
used. Maybe the formula counted up to 100 days and on the 101st day it didn’t
know what to do, so it didn’t update a record, and an error was reported.
A human needs to analyze the error and decide if the code needs to be
refactored to avoid this from happening again.

Next in Line Effect

This is when the moment it is your turn to talk or present your mind goes
blank. This may happen the instance the meeting is turned over to you. You
need to present a demo and despite practicing the day before and having
notes in front of you, you can’t recall any information. This is a bummer if this
has happened to you, but now you know—it’s just a common human flaw and
not your own personal defect.

Spacing Effect
The spacing effect is the consequence where you learn more if you spread out
your learning over a period of time rather than trying to cram it all into a
short session. This is a good tip to keep in mind when you are studying for a
certification. Give yourself the proper amount of time.

Semmelweis Reflex
This is when new evidence is rejected because it contradicts established
norms. You may encounter this type of thinking on a stick in the mud project,
described in Chapter 10, where stakeholders are resistant to change.

Summary
Critical thinking is an important skill to master and takes lots of practice. As
you gather information to analyze, keep it organized and don’t spend too
much time looking for information you may not need to solve the problem.
Know when enough is enough. Manage information overload. Use a balanced
approach if you want to show opinions. Separate a fact that comes from an
authoritative source from an opinion when presenting analysis.
160 Chapter 13 | Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

Finally, watch out for cognitive biases. Use the Cognitive Bias Codex with
definitions image to monitor cognitive biases, and ask yourself if you have
recently encountered any.

Resources
The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking by Barbara Minto, https://
www.amazon.com/Pyramid-­P rinciple-­L ogic-­W riting-­T hinking/
dp/0273710516
Cognitive Bias Codex with Definitions, an enormous image that takes up your
whole browser window and lists the definitions of each cognitive bias. Use the
magnifying glass in your browser to zoom in and out of the infographic to read
the biases and their definitions grouped by quadrants and further subdivided.
For example, the subcategories in the Information Overload quadrant are as
follows:

• We notice things already primed in memory or repeated

often (12 biases).
• Bizarre, funny, visually striking, or anthropomorphic
things stick out more than nonbizarre/unfunny things
(six biases)
• We notice when something has changed (eight biases)
• We are drawn to details that confirm our own existing
beliefs (13 biases, including the Semmelweis Reflex
mentioned earlier)
• We notice flaws in others more easily than we notice
flaws in ourselves (three biases).

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Cognitive_
Bias_Codex_With_Definitions%2C_an_Extension_of_the_work_of_
John_Manoogian_by_Brian_Morrissette.jpg
 APPENDIX

Other Resources
Blog by a Salesforce developer who has been in the ecosystem since 2011,
https://www.infallibletechie.com/
Resource to practice coding, https://www.sfdc99.com/
Salesforce Women in Tech, Twitter @SFDCWiT, private group for woman in
Salesforce, https://trailblazers.salesforce.com/_ui/core/chatter/
groups/GroupProfilePage?g=0F9300000001oES
Salesforce Ben, run by Ben McCarthy, a good place to keep up with changes
in the Salesforce ecosystem and with lots of useful content that is constantly
updated, https://www.salesforceben.com/
Find answers to questions from the community and Salesforce Stack Exchange,
https://trailblazers.salesforce.com/answers, https://salesforce.
stackexchange.com/
Slack group called Salesforce #ohanaSlack run by Meighan Brodkey, https://
meighanrockssf.com/2019/04/02/salesforce-­ohana-­slack/
Toolkit for common Salesforce consulting processes and tasks, https://
cloudtoolkit.co/
Salesforce MVP Salesforce nomination program for people in the ecosystem
who give back to the community in a significant way, https://www.
salesforce.com/blog/nominate-­trailblazer-­mentors-salesforce-­
mvp/?d=7010M000001yv8PQAQ

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1
162 Appendix A | Other Resources

Who Sees What Video Series from Salesforce, covers the main features in
Salesforce that determine the visibility of data and access to that data,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOIPH0aLY0E
Paid Practice Exams, https://focusonforce.com/admin-­study-­guide/
Free Practice Questions, https://quizlet.com/subject/salesforce/
Config Workbook, a paid AppExchange product that helps you extract
Salesforce metadata in Excel files, http://www.configworkbook.com/
 I
Index
A rules, 100
stories, 100, 101
Acceptance criteria, 37, 59, 87, 101
Bernoulli numbers, 50
Agile 101, 88
Bike-shedding effect, 157, 158
Agile ceremonies, 35, 99, 100, 105
Blocker, 105
Agile projects, 34, 35, 40, 43, 44, 96
Breathing techniques, 143
Airline clubs, 74
Bugs, 108, 110
Analytical Engine, 50
Business analysis
Apex, 40, 50 acceptance criteria, 94
Apex Hours, 53 current/future state, 91, 92
Assumptions, 57, 63, 65–67, 106, 107 definition, 91
process flows, 92, 93
Automated testing, 52, 94
user stories, 93
Automation bias, 158
Business analysts, 6, 22, 45, 47, 52, 54,
Automation Hour, 53 61, 81, 90
Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Business architect, 45
Reinforcement (Adkar), 46
C
B Centralized staffing model, 60, 61
Backlog, 99–101 Certified technical architect (CTA), 47, 48
Backlog grooming, 100, 101 Change manager, 46, 54
Backlog refinement CLEAR program, 73
clouds, 102
Client management, 116
definition, 100
definition of ready, 100 Cognitive behavior therapy, 142, 158
dependencies, 101, 102 Cognitive Bias Codex, 157, 160
design, 101, 102 Communication method, 46, 129
epics, 100 listening, 130, 131
product owner, 100, 101 The medium is the message, 129

© Heather Negley 2022

H. Negley, The Salesforce Consultant’s Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7960-1
164 Index

Communication method (cont.) Dataloader.io, 48

lightbulb, 130 Data mappings, 48
Twitter, 130 Data migration, 48
Slack, 132
speaking/writing, 131, 132 Data visualization specialist, 49

Connor’s Consulting Semi-Agile Decentralized staffing model, 61

Methodology, 88 Deployment, 99, 111
Consultant, 40 Developers, 42, 50
decentralized model, 61 Dirty data, 66
experience, 40
Discovery, 44
functional vs. technical role, 41, 42
goals, 40 Discovery meetings
job function, 40 circumstances, 89
presales, 57 goal, 89
power and influence, 40 note-taker, 90
role, 40 roles, 90
series, 89
Consulting skills, 41, 113, 115
traditional delivery project, 89, 90
Contracts, 58, 59
Dreamforce, 17, 18, 145
Create, read, edit, or delete (CRED), 91
Critical thinking E
bias, 153
Earned-value analysis (EVA), 44
cognitive biases, 152, 157
automation bias, 158 Echo chamber project
bike-shedding effect, 157, 158 clients, 119
Cognitive Bias Codex, 157 coping mechanism, 120
information bias, 158 definition, 119
irrational escalation, 158 strategies, 120, 121
next in line effect, 159 Emotional intelligence
Semmelweis Reflex, 159 definition, 135
spacing effect, 159 and relationships, 136
definition, 151 salesforce project, 135
gathering/analyzing/evaluation, 152 self-awareness, 135
information overload, 153, 154 Emotional turbulence
opinions, 153 booted
strategies, 154, 155 cognitive dissonance, 146
synthesizing/distilling consultants, 145
chunk of information, 155 decisions, 146
matrixes, 156, 157 empathy, 146
read-only access, 157 gratitude, 147
Venn diagram, 155, 156 resilience, 146
uses, 152 stone tool, 147
Customer relationship database (CRM), 57 burnout
annoyance/anger/stress, 145
D identification, 144
managing, 144
Daily upstand-ups, 105
Salesforce systems integrator, 144
Data architect, 47–49, 54, 81 dumpster fire
 Index 165

amygdala, 143 H
anxiety, 142, 143
application, 141 High horse project
client, 140 conversation swirl, 126
connection, 143 definition, 125
control, 142, 143 strategies, 126
demos, 140 Hydra project, 116, 117
failing, 142 communication swirl, 117
fight-or-flight response, 142 definition, 116
meditation, 143 scavenger hunts, 118
mistakes, 141, 142 strategies, 118, 119
out of scope, 141 HyperText Markup Language (HTML), 50
technical issues, 140
trusted adviser, 141 I
types, 140
what-if scenario, 140, 141 Information bias, 158
empathy, 139 Information overload, 153
optimism, 139 Instant messaging technologies, 72
self-awareness, 139
Integration, 4, 33, 48
situational awareness, 139
tools, 139 International Data Corporation (IDC), 5
Emotions Internet, 7, 153
anger/surprise, 136
bodily sensations/expressive J
movements, 136 Joys of Apex, 53
combinations, 137, 138
definition, 136
negative, 138
K
Plutchik wheel, 136, 137 Key performance indicators (KPIs),
prefrontal region, 138 40, 87, 122
primary, 137 Kickoff meeting
trust/cultivate, 138 client’s business needs, 86
Eudaimonic living, 139 client’s vision, 87
definition, 85
Explorer project, 122
executive sponsorship, 86
consultant, 122
interpersonal tips, 86, 87
scope creep, 123
project methodology, 88
strategies, 123
use cases, 87, 88
Extract, transform, load (ETL), 48
Knowledge transfer (KT), 63, 87

F L
Fibonacci sequence, 103, 104
Learning Salesforce
Fixed price, 44, 58, 59, 65, 67 certifications, 15
FLIO app, 74 communities, 18
Military, 17
G Ohana Slack, 17
Saturday, 16
Gaslighting techniques, 126
Trailblazer, 16
Gherkin syntax, 52, 94 consultant, 10
166 Index

Learning Salesforce (cont.) Prosci, 46

definition, 9 Punch cards, 30
events, 17, 18
free bootcamp programs, 13, 14 Q
mentors, 11, 12
paid learning, 14, 15 QA engineers, 52, 94
resources, 12 Quality assurance (QA), 52
tech cycles, 12
technology field, 10 R
Trailhead, 13
Radical Apex Developers (RAD), 51
License types, 80
Rational emotive behavior therapy, 142
Lightning platform server, 46
Recruiters, 72
Requests for proposals (RFPs), 58
M
Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and
Magic Quadrant, 153
Informed (RACI), 82
Mervis, 17, 18
Retrospective, 108, 109
Mileage program, 74
Risks and issues, 106, 107
MileIQ app, 72
Roadmapping, 45
Minimum viable product (MVP), 37, 42, 123
Roadmap projects, 89
Role, 40, 42
N activities, 80–82
Nanah Gregg’s blog, 54 integration, 80
National Center for Women & licenses, 80
Information Technology, 51 project manager, 79
Next in line effect, 159 projects, 81, 82
project team, 79, 81
RACI chart, 82, 83
O team members, 81
Opportunity, 23, 57, 58 use case, 80
Rube Goldberg project, 124, 125
P Rumination, 143
Persona, 91, 93, 95, 101
Planning Poker/Scrum Poker, 103 S
Presales Salesforce Administrator certification, 9
definition, 57 Salesforce ecosystem
opportunity, 58 automation and software development, 4
sales engineer, 58 Benioff’s practical application, 5
sales team, 58 community, 4
Professional services groups, 62 consultant, 3
Programming, women, 50–52 definition, 6, 8
elements, 5
Project Management Professional (PMP), 43
Ohana, 6
Project managers, 43, 44, 80, 104 organizations types, 6
Proof of concept, 118, 119 platform, 7
 Index 167

Salesforce Pathfinder Program, 13 Sprint reviews, 107, 108

Salesforce project, 106 Sprints, 105
Salesforce’s data theory, 48 Staffing
Salesforce Way, 53 on the bench, 60
centralized staffing model, 60
Sales handoff meeting
decentralized staffing model, 61
consultants, 63
decisions, 59
definition, 62
manager, 61
orientation, 62
presentation, 63 Stakeholders, 45
assumptions, 65, 66 Statement of work (SOW), 65
business vs. IT, 66 Stick in the mud project
client, 66 definition, 126
company background, 63 stakeholders, 126
sold, 64 strategies, 127
SOW, 65 vs. echo chamber project, 126
timeline/scope/budget, 65
Stoic philosophers, 142
project team/client, 67
recording, 62 Story pointing, 103
technology, 67 Structured programming, 30
Scrum board, 105, 106 Structured query language (SQL), 48
Scrum events, 100 Swiss cheese project
Security and Exchange Commission definition, 121
(SEC), 63 five Ws, 121
strategies, 122
Slack, 12, 17, 132
Soft skills, 4, 11, 115, 116
T
Software-as-a-service platform, 5, 7, 8
Tableau, 7, 48
Software development, 111
Team cohesion, 95, 96
automation, 29–31
lifecycle, 29 Technology meeting, 67
Software development lifecycle (SDLC) Teleconferences, 72
acceleration of change, 34 Time and materials (T&M), 58
agile, 34 Timebox research, 118
definition, 32
Sprints, 35 Trailblazer ranks, 13
value of continuous feedback, 36, 37 Trailblazers, 11, 16
waterfall, 32, 33 Trailhead, 12–14, 18, 47, 48, 132
Solution architects, 22, 45, 47 Transportation Security Administration
Spacing effect, 159 (TSA), 73
Sprint planning Travel
definition, 103 airport hacks, 73, 74
definition of done, 104 balance time, 72
stories, 103 clients, 72
story points, 103 consultants, 72
teams, 103 consulting firm, 72
velocity, 104 kickoff meeting, 72
168 Index

Travel (cont.) Work experience

logistics, 72 definition, 21
reimbursement, 74, 75 job experience, 21, 22
recruiters, 25
TSA PreCheck, 73
volunteering
Tuckman model, 95, 96 Catch a Fire, 23
definition, 23
U idealist, 24
Unified Modeling Language (UML), 92 Points of Light, 24
resources, 23
User acceptance testing, 99, 110, 111
Taproot, 23
Utilization, 78, 79 VolunteerMatch, 24
Workforce automation, 123
V Working from home
Visuals, 101, 109, 110 background feature, 77
comfortable place, 75
W, X, Y, Z distraction, 77
Waterfall and Agile methodologies, 88 ergonomic setup, 75, 76
green screen, 77, 78
Wideband Delphi estimation method, 103 light source, 76, 77
Wikipedia, 153 meeting, 78
Women Code Heros, 52 monitors, 76
standing desks, 76
Work breakdown structure, 44, 109, 110
workstation, 76